
Copyright^ 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



AMERICAN CRISIS RIOGRAPHIES 

Edited by 

Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, Ph. D. 



Gbe Hmerican Crisis Biographies 

Edited by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer, Ph.D. With the 
counsel and advice of Professor John B. McMaster, of 
the University of Pennsylvania. 

Each i2mo, cloth, with frontispiece portrait. Price 
$1.25 net; by mail, $1.37. 

These biographies will constitute a complete and comprehensive 
history of the great American sectional struggle in the form of readable 
and authoritative biography. The editor has enlisted the co-operation 
of many competent writers, as will be noted from the list given below. 
An interesting feature of the undertaking is that the series is to be im- 
partial, Southern writers having been assigned to Southern subjects and 
Northern writers to Northern subjects, but all will belong to the younger 
generation of writers, thus assuring freedom from any suspicion of war- 
time prejudice. The Civil War will not be treated as a rebellion, but as 
the great event in the history of our nation, which, after forty years, it 
is now clearly recognized to have been. 

Now ready : 
Abraham Lincoln. By Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer. 
Thomas H. Benton. By Joseph M. Rogers. 
David G. Farragut. By John R. Spears. 
William T. Sherman. By Edward Robins. 

In preparation : 
John C. Calhoun. By Gaillard Hunt. 
Daniel Webster. By Prof. C. H. Van Tyne. 
Alexander H. Stephens. By Louis Pendleton. 
John Quincy Adams. By Brooks Adams. 
John Brown. By W. E. Burghardt Dubois. 
William Lloyd Garrison. By Lindsay Swift. 
Charles Sumner. By Prof. Franklin S. Edmonds. 
William H. Seward. By Edward Everett Hale, Jr. 
Frederick Douglass. By Booker T. Washington. 
Jefferson Davis. By Prof. W. E. Dodd. 
Robert E. Lee. By Philip Alexander Bruce. 
Stephen A. Douglas. By Prof. Allen Johnson. 
Judah P. Benjamin. By Pierce Butler. 
Thaddeus Stevens. By Prof. J. A. Woodburn. 
Andrew Johnson. By Waddy Thompson. 

To be followed by : 

Henry Clay Edwin M. Stanton 

Ulysses S. Grant "Stonewall" Jackson 

Wade Hampton Jay Cooke 



AMERICAN CRISIS BIOGRAPHIES 

WILLIAM T. SHERMAN 

by 
EDWARD ROBINS 

Author of " Benjamin Franklin," " Romances of 
Early America," etc. 




PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



■ 

OCT 3! 1905 
_ 3owrutm amy 

01 






Copyright, 1905, by 
George W. Jacobs & Company 
Publishedy October, 1905. 



CONTENTS 



Chronology 
I. A Scion of Puritans 
II. Among Friends — and Enemies 

III. The Coming of the Storm 

IV. At War in Earnest 
V. On to Vicksburg 

VI. Shadows of Coming Events 
VII. The Atlanta Campaign . 
VIII. The Fall of a Stronghold 
IX. The March to the Sea . 
X. Savannah and the Carolinas 
XI. Ending the War 
XII. Peaceful Days 
Bibliography . 
Index .... 



7 

11 

33 

55 

81 

108 

135 

162 

193 

222 

253 

284 

309 

335 

339 



CHRONOLOGY 



1820 — February 8, born in Lancaster, Ohio; the son of 
Charles Robert and Mary Hoyt Sherman. On the death 
of his father he is adopted by Senator Thomas Ewing. 

1836 — June 12, reaches West Point, where he enters the 
military academy as a cadet from Ohio, his appointment 
dating from July 1. His classmates include George H. 
Thomas. 

1840 — June, graduates from West Point, sixth in his class. 
Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Third Artillery, 
July 1. He is afterward stationed in Florida. 

1841 — November 30, commissioned a first lieutenant. 

1842 — June, ordered to Fort Moultrie, in Charleston harbor, 
where he is stationed for four years. 

1846— July 14, embarks with United States troops for service 
in California. Arrives in Monterey the following Janu- 
ary, and does duty as an acting adjutant-general, etc. 

1850— May 1, marries, in Washington, D. C, Miss Ellen 
Boyle Ewing, daughter of his benefactor, Thomas Ewing. 
September 27, commissioned a captain in the Commis- 
sary Department and is afterward stationed in St. Louis 
and New Orleans. He had already been brevetted a cap- 
tain for gallant and meritorious services in California, to 
date from May 30, 1848. 

1853— September 6, resigns from the army and enters into 
the banking business in San Francisco. He subsequently 
relinquishes banking and makes an unsuccessful attempt 
at law. His career at this point seems very unpromising. 

1859 — July, receives notice that he has been elected superin- 
tendent of a new military school in Louisiana. He ac- 
cepts the post, and makes a success of his work. 



8 CHEONOLOGY 

1861— January 18, owing to the political situation he resigns 
as superintendent, and comes north. His resignation is 
regretfully accepted. April 1, enters on his new duties 
as president of a St. Louis street railway. May 14, com- 
missioned colonel of the Thirteenth Regiment of Infan- 
try, and reports for duty in Washington. Eesigns his 
presidency of the street railway. July, engages as an 
acting brigade commander of volunteers, with great 
credit, in the movements connected with the Bull Run 
operations. He is later commissioned a brigadier-gen- 
eral of volunteers, to date from May 17. August 24, 
assigned to the Department of the Cumberland, and sub- 
sequently relieves General Robert Anderson of its com- 
mand. His appreciation of the gravity of the military 
situation in Kentucky causes many critics to think he is 
demented, although he is soon vindicated. Sherman is 
finally relieved of command by General Buell. 

1862 — February 13, ordered to assume command of post at 
Paducah, Kentucky. April 6 and 7, takes a distin- 
guished part, as a division commander, in the battle of 
Shiloh. His commission as major-general of volunteers 
dates from May 1. July 21, enters Memphis, and takes 
charge of the military administration of the city. 

1863 — January, performs great service in connection with the 
capture of Arkansas Post. January to July 4, assists 
General Grant importantly and brilliantly in the cam- 
paign against Vicksburg. His commission as brigadier- 
general in the United States army dates from July 4. 
November, makes a distinguished record in the opera- 
tions around Chattanooga. Afterward marches to the 
relief of Burnside at Knoxville. 

1864— May 5, opening of his celebrated campaign against 
Atlanta. September 3, Lincoln formally offers the na- 
tion's thanks for Sherman's capture of Atlanta. Sher- 
man's commission as a major-general in the Regular 
Army dates from August 12, 1864. November, troops 
begin the "March to the Sea," from Atlanta. Decem- 
ber 21, fall of Savannah. Sherman is warmly thanked by 
Lincoln. 

1865— February 1, campaign of the Carolinas inaugurated. 
March 27 and 28, Sherman has his historic talks with 
Lincoln. April 18, date of the agreement which Sher- 



CHRONOLOGY 9 

man and General Joseph E. Johnston draw up for a 
cessation of hostilities. The agreement is repudiated by 
the authorities at Washington, and another is made. 
May 24, Sherman and his army take part in the final 
reviews in Washington to mark the ending of the war. 

1866 — July 25, commissioned lieutenant-general. 

1869— March 8, becomes commander-in-chief of the army. 

1884 — February 8, retires from active service in the army. 

1891 — February 14, dies in New York City. He is buried, with 
impressive services, in St. Louis. 



WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 



CHAPTEE I 

A SCION OF PURITANS 



"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it, and 
those who brought war into our country deserve all 
the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. 
. . . You might as well appeal against the thun- 
der-storm as against these terrible hardships of war. ' ' 

These incisive, relentless words were addressed by 
William Tecumseh Sherman to Mayor Calhoun and 
the City Council of Atlanta, Georgia, in September, 
1864, in response to a letter protesting against the 
determination of Sherman, then the conqueror of 
Atlanta, to remove her citizens from their homes 
and send them either to the southward or to the 
northward. It was likewise in protest of this cele- 
brated order that General Hood, commanding the 
Confederate Army of Tennessee, had written an im- 
passioned appeal wherein he said, in terms that were 
doubtless re-echoed in the hearts of nearly every 
Georgian : 

"The unprecedented measure you propose tran- 
scends, in studied and ingenious cruelty, all acts 



12 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

ever before brought to my attention in the dark 
history of war. In the name of God and humanity 
I protest, believing that you will find that you are 
expelling from their homes and firesides the wives 
and children of a brave people.' 7 

This was a terrible indictment that Hood brought 
against his brilliant antagonist, but Sherman, who 
was almost as fine a commander of the King's Eng- 
lish as he was of a great army, did not hesitate to 
reply with that uncompromising truth : l i War is 
cruelty ! ' ' There is a harsh but convincing ring 
about this axiom — the ring, as it were, of a clear, 
hard bell — which suggests the stern dictum of some 
old-time Puritan. The Puritans had been well hated 
by the Cavaliers, yet they had had the courage of 
their convictions. General Sherman, who was 
fiercely hated by the Cavaliers of the South, had 
the courage of his convictions, too ; so it seems 
quite natural, when one considers all his qualities, 
that he should have been descended from rugged 
Puritan stock. 

William Tecumseh Sherman traced back his an- 
cestry (with more certainty, by the way, than some 
Americans develop their pedigrees) to a pros- 
perous cloth manufacturer of Dedham, Essex 
County, England, one Edmond Sherman, who is 
described by the late Senator John Sherman as a 
" Roundhead" who combined all the faults and 
virtues of a sectary. "He had the misfortune to 
live at the time when Charles I undertook to dis- 
pense with Parliament, and to impose unlawful 



A SCION OF PUBITANS 13 

taxes and burdens upon the people of England ; 
and when the privileges of the nobility were en- 
forced with great severity by judges dependent 
upon the crown." J 

This Edmond Sherman managed to die with his 
head on his shoulders, however, and lies buried in 
Dedham, where a free school endowed by him still 
gives lustre to his name. After General Sherman 
had become well-known on the other side of the At- 
lantic the sexton of Dedham Church wrote to him, 
calling attention to the " neglected monument " of 
his ancestor, in the church yard, and asking a 
contribution toward its repair. The general re- 
plied, in effect, that, as his ancestor in England 
had reposed in peace under a monument for more 
than two centuries, while some of his more recent 
ancestors in America were buried in unmarked 
graves, he thought it better to contribute to tomb- 
stones for the latter, "and leave to his English 
cousins the care of the monuments of their common 
ancestors in England." 

A nephew of Edmond Sherman, Captain John 
Sherman, emigrated to America, settled in Water- 
town, Massachusetts, and has had for descendants, 
among others, Eoger Sherman, a signer of the Dec- 
laration of Independence, William M. Evarts, 
George F. Hoar, and Chauncey M. Depew. With 
" Captain John" there also came two sons of 
Edmond, and one of them, Samuel, who is re- 
ferred to in ancient deeds as the "Worshipful 
1 John Sherman's " Recollections." 



14 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Master Sherman," was the ancestor of the general. 
But there is no need further to sketch in detail 
the highly respectable tree of the Sherman family. 
The scions of Samuel were sturdy Puritans, who 
were much venerated in the staid state of Con- 
necticut, and contributed their full quota to the 
brain and muscle which made New England 
great and which have kept her a power in the 
nation until the present day. The Shermans 
served the commonwealth ; worshiped the Lord in 
their stern, aggressive way ; observed the Sabbath 
strictly, after the melancholy fashion of the times ; 
and duly multiplied. 

At last there came into the world (1788) Charles 
Eobert Sherman, who married Mary Hoyt, a lady 
of Norwalk, Connecticut, and, within a period of 
nineteen years, became the father of eleven chil- 
dren. The sixth child of this union proved to be 
the subject of our biography ; the eighth child was 
the late Senator John Sherman. 

Charles Robert Sherman was an enterprising and 
very young lawyer, who, finding the atmosphere of 
his native state too confined, emigrated with his 
wife to Lancaster, Ohio (1811). A large portion of 
Ohio was then a wilderness, and a journey thence 
from New England was a perilous undertaking. 
Husband and wife were obliged to make the greater 
part of the trip on horseback, alternately carrying 
their first-born, a boy only a few months old, upon 
a pillow before them. Mrs. Sherman had been 
gently reared, but she never flinched at the hard- 



A SCION OF PURITANS 15 

ships and inconveniences they encountered, and 
made the journey as undauntedly as did her hus- 
band. As she was a plucky woman, who came of 
plucky forbears, it is not hard to see that her future 
child, the general, owed at least some of his bravery, 
moral and physical, to the maternal line of Hoyt. 

At the time of the American Revolution the Hoyt 
family, composed of several brothers, was divided 
in its allegiance between Toryism and Patriotism. 
There is a tradition to the effect that " one of the 
Tory brothers pointed out the house of his brother, 
at the capture of Norwalk by the British and Tories, 
as the nest of a rebel, and it was burned to the 
ground." 

The Tory brother no doubt acted from what he 
conceived to be a profound sense of duty. It was 
likewise from a profound sense of duty that General 
Sherman, the descendant of the Hoyts, waged re- 
lentless war upon his " brothers" in Georgia and 
the Carolinas, and caused many a chivalrous but in- 
censed Southerner to brand him for years as a 
1 ' butcher, " or an unnatural monster. These studies 
in heredity are always interesting — if we choose to 
believe in it. 

But to return to Charles Eobert Sherman, the 
father of our hero. He prospered well in his pro- 
fession of the law, which he was obliged to follow 
in much the same way as did Abraham Lincoln, 
many years later, in the half-settled districts of Illi- 
nois. In Ohio it was the necessary custom for law- 
yers to travel "on circuit," accompanying the 



16 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

various judges who held court from couuty to 
couuty. They spent a large part of the time on 
horseback, " their saddle-bags stuffed with papers, 
documents, briefs, law-books, clothing, and, perad- 
venture, some creature delectation also." A merry, 
jovial party, they rode through fields and forest, 
encountering all dangers with good-humored en- 
durance ; and, after having reached a town and 
worked all day in court, they, in company with 
judge, opposing counsel and sometimes clients, 
would end with a hot supper and much wit and 
song at the neighboring inn. 

It was while Sherman was leading this spirited 
existence that his sixth child was born in Lancaster, 
February 8, 1820. To the new arrival the father 
gave the name of William Tecumseh. The ' ' Tecum - 
seh " was bestowed in honor of that Indian chieftain 
who played so important a part in our early frontier 
history. 

In 1823 Charles Robert Sherman was made a judge 
of the Ohio Supreme Court $ six years later he died, 
rich in honors but poor in the goods of this world. 
His wife was left with eleven children, and with 
but little means for their support. It was necessary 
that the children should be taken temporarily into 
other homes, and in the breaking up of the family 
which followed, William Tecumseh Sherman was 
adopted by Thomas Ewing. 

No more fortunate fate could have been desired 
for the boy. Ewing was a giant, physically and in- 
tellectually ; he achieved a national reputation, 



A SCION OF PURITANS 17 

both as a member of the bar and as a statesman, 
and the people of Ohio were ever glad to honor him. 
He was a ' l self-made ' ' man in the best sense of the 
word ; in his youth he once worked in a salt estab- 
lishment all day, and studied law in the evening by 
the light of the furnace fires : in time he became a 
United States senator, and, later on, a cabinet offi- 
cer under Presidents William Henry Harrison and 
Zachary Taylor. He was essentially virile, and 
just the type of American to give helpful inspira- 
tion to any lad who might be sheltered under his 
roof tree. The fact, too, that Charles Robert Sher- 
man had been his friend, and had extended him 
more than one kindness, made him anxious to do all 
he could for the nine-year old William. 

In the Ewing home at Lancaster, William Tecum - 
seh remained, as a schoolboy, until the spring of 
1836, when Senator Ewing secured for his young 
protege a cadetship at the Military Academy at 
West Point. The delighted youth set out shortly 
for the east, accomplished the journey by laborious 
stages, spent a few days in Washington, and finally 
reached West Point (June 12th), very tired, but 
still enthusiastic. Here he settled down to the 
humdrum of study and military duty, attending 
so well to his work that he was graduated sixth, in 
a class of forty -two members, in June, 1840. Among 
his classmates were Stewart Van Vliet, George H. 
Thomas and Richard S. Ewell. 

During his four years' course at West Point he 
wrote letters to his frieuds which, by their candor 



18 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

and directness, give the keynote to his character. 
He says, for instance: "The last encampment, 
taken all in all, I think was the most pleasant one 
I have ever spent, even to me, who did not partici- 
pate in the dances and balls given every week by 
the different classes ; besides, the duties were alto- 
gether of a different nature from any of the previous 
ones ; such as acting as officers upon guard and at 
artillery drills, practicing at target-firing with long 
twenty-fours and thirty-twos, mortars, howitzers, 
etc., as also cavalry exercise, which has been in- 
troduced this year. As to lording it over the plebs, 
to which you referred, I had only one, whom I made, 
of course, tend to a pleb's duty, such as bringing 
water, policing the tent, cleaning my gun and ac- 
coutrements, and the like, and repaid in the usual 
and cheap coin — ad vice. " 

Through the whole correspondence runs evidence 
of a keen sense of humor, which was a virtue, be it 
added, that William's distinguished brother, John, 
never possessed in any remarkable degree. In 
another letter, dated April, 1840, the young soldier 
writes: 

"Sometimes it appears that war with England is 
inevitable ; books are thrown in the corner, and 
broadswords and foils supply their place. Such 
lunging, cutting and slashing — enough to dispose 
of at least a thousand British a day ; but the mail 
or recitation soon destroys the illusion with — 'It's 
all a hoax,' or, 'Sir, you've been neglecting your 
studies.' " 



A SCION OF PTJKITANS 19 

The boy can write seriously, too, and with all 
the delightful enthusiasm of his years, as when he 
says: "The nearer we come to that dreadful 
epoch, graduation day, the higher opinion I con- 
ceive of the duties and life of an officer of the 
United States Army, and the more confirmed in the 
wish of spending my life in the service of my 
country. Think of that ! " 

Once he writes some words of advice, quaintly 
amusing in their air of elderly sobriety, to brother 
John : 

" I hear that you are engaged in speculating in 
salt, and are waiting for the river to rise to take a 
load down to Cincinnati. Are you doing this on 
borrowed capital or not I Or does it interfere in the 
least with your duties as engineer ? If it does I 
would advise you not to engage in it at any rate, 
even if you can make a fortune by it ; for a repu- 
tation for a strict and rigid compliance to one's 
duties, whatever they may be, is far more valuable 
than a dozen loads of salt." 

Brother John, then scarcely sixteen years old, 
was a member of an engineer corps of the Mus- 
kingum Eiver Improvement Company, and it may 
easily be imagined that he was not in danger of 
meeting with a heavy financial disaster. The salt 
speculation did not succeed, because the unaccom- 
modating river refused to rise at the right moment ; 
but John Sherman's career suffered no blight as a 
consequence. 
In a later letter to John the cadet says, with that 



20 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

dogmatic air which was afterward to characterize 
so many of his military utterances : 

1 ' I presume the idea of your studying law has 
been decided upon, ... so that it would be 
rather impertinent for me to object in the least ; 
but for my part it would be my last choice. Every- 
body studies law nowadays, and to be a lawyer 
without being exceedingly eminent — which it is to 
be hoped you will be some day — is not a sufficient 
equivalent for their risks and immease study and 
labor. However, if you decide upon anything you 
should immediately commence to carry it into ex- 
ecution. . . . Whether I remain in the army 
for life, or not, is doubtful, but one thing is certain 
— that I will never study another profession." 

The country owes much to the lad's dislike of the 
law. He did, as we shall see, become a lawyer for 
a brief space, but not in a serious way. He was es- 
sentially a man of brains, yet there was not in him 
the stuff of which barristers are made. He lacked 
the intellectual finesse of the less-educated but more 
subtle Lincoln ; he lacked, too, the art of patience. 
As a real member of the bar, or as a statesman, he 
must have proved a brilliant failure. But he knew 
his limitations, as the future years would show : 
the time was to come when, unlike the less prudent 
Grant, he would refuse to listen to the buzzing 
of the presidential bee. Only once would he try to 
be a statesman (in re the surrender of General 
Joseph E. Johnston) and then he would not suc- 
ceed. 



A SCION OF PUKITANS 21 

In June, 1840, when Sherman graduated, he was 
appointed to a second-lieutenantcy in the Third 
Eegiment of Artillery, and allowed a leave of absence 
for a visit home. Several months later found him 
stationed at Fort Pierce, in eastern Florida, where 
he spent the warm season in idling, fishing, or 
anathematizing the mosquitoes; and the colder 
months in assisting in frequent expeditions against 
the hostile Seminole Indians. To John Sherman 
the lieutenant described the Seminole war with 
cynical humor : 

" As to the history of the war, — the same as all 
our Indian wars. A treaty for the removal [of the 
Indians] is formed by a few who represent themselves 
as the whole ; the time comes, and none present 
themselves. The Government orders force to be 
used ; the troops in the territory commence, but are 
so few that they all get massacred. The cowardly 
inhabitants, instead of rallying, desert their homes, 
and sound the alarm- call for assistance. An army 
supposed to be strong enough is sent, seeks and en- 
counters the enemy at a place selected by the latter, 
and gets a few hundred killed. The Indians retreat, 
scatter, and are safe. This may be repeated ad in- 
finitum. The best officer is selected to direct the 
affairs of the army, — comes to Florida, exposes him- 
self, does all he can, gets abused by all, more than 
likely breaks down his constitution, and is glad 
enough to get out of the scrape." 

There is a philosophy in this critique which 
strongly suggests the history of Indian warfare, (as 



22 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

to some of its phases, assuredly), in earlier and later 
times. 

But this life in Florida, while affording a certain 
amount of military experience, was trifling, un- 
heroic and wholly uninviting. Although it called 
for bravery and endurance on the part of the sol- 
diers, there was nothing very inspiring in potting 
Seminole bucks or capturing ugly squaws. 

In January of 1842 Sherman received his com- 
mission as a first-lieutenant. After seeing service 
at posts in Florida, he was transferred with his 
company to Fort Morgan, at the entrance of the Bay 
of Mobile ; in the following June he was ordered to 
Fort Moultrie, in Charleston harbor. 

Here he remained for the next four years, enjoy- 
ing the hospitality of the Charlestonians — who are 
among the most cordial people of a cordial race — 
but evidently becoming, at times, somewhat bored 
with the too-civilized life which he was leading. 
He little realized that in less than twenty years 
Charleston would be one of the storm-centres of the 
greatest war of the nineteenth century. But there 
was no thought of conflict thus far. Balls, picnick- 
ing, horse-racing, boating, fishing, swimming and 
the like were more familiar experiences to the 
officers stationed at Charleston, than the use of gun- 
powder or cannon. The latter were employed only 
for saluting or practice ; bayonets and swords flashed 
only for routine duty or for dress parade. " A life 
of this kind," observed young Sherman, " does well 
enough for a while, but soon surfeits with its flip- 



A SCION OF PUBITANS 23 

pancy, — mingling with people in whom you feel no 
permanent interest, smirks and smiles when you 
feel savage, tight boots when you fancy you would 
prefer slippers. " 

But the lieutenant did something more than at- 
tend to social duties. He visited his old home in 
Lancaster, O., on furlough, and became engaged 
to Miss Ellen Boyle Ewing, the daughter of his 
patron, Senator Ewing ; he made a trip down the 
Mississippi to New Orleans ; he visited a number 
of Southern cities, thereby unconsciously gaining a 
knowledge of the South and her people which was 
to stand him in good stead during the Civil War ; 
and he served on a board appointed by the War 
Department to investigate certain militia claims. 
He even read Blackstone and filled himself with 
other legal lore, not with the idea of adopting the 
law as a profession, but simply that he might prove 
more serviceable as a member of army boards or 
courts-martial. 

In the meantime war with Mexico — that war 
which General Grant long afterward characterized 
as "unholy" on the part of the United States— be- 
gan to loom upon the national horizon. Politics 
became heated, and politicians began to discourse 
freely. They ever do before a conflict, which they 
thus help to bring on. 

No one watched this horizon with more anxiety 
than Sherman. He longed for active service with 
all the zest of a young soldier : if there were to be 
war over the possible acquisition of Texas, he wished 



24 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

to be a participant. But for the politicians then, as 
ever, he cherished in his rugged heart the most pro- 
found contempt. When he learned that his brother 
John had entered into politics out in Ohio, albeit 
in a modest way, he hardly knew what to think. 

" My dear brother,' 7 he wrote from Fort Moultrie, 
"what in the devil are you doing? Stump speak- 
ing ! I really thought you were too decent, or at 
least had sufficient pride not to humble and cringe 
to beg party or popular favor. However, the com- 
ing election will sufficiently prove the intelligence 
and patriotic spirit of the American people, and 
may deter you from committing a like sin again. 
. . . For my part I wish Henry Clay to be 
elected, and should rejoice in his success for various 
reasons, but I do not permit myself to indulge in 
sanguine feelings when dependence has to be placed 
on the pitch and toss game of party elections.'' 

John Sherman, like a good Whig, had been mak- 
ing speeches in favor of Henry Clay, but his elo- 
quence could not save his hero from defeat at the 
polls. As to his brother William's letter, one must 
read between the lines to find in it a certain fraternal 
pride in the sudden prominence of the stump 
speaker. Whatever the soldier might have to say, 
in the future, about politics and politicians, he 
always delighted in John Sherman's success. 

It seemed like the irony of fate that Lieutenant 
Sherman, with all his anxiety for the most active 
kind of service, should have been obliged to pass in 
California the period of the Mexican War. During 



A SCION OF PURITANS 25 

the spring of 1846 he was assigned to recruiting 
duty at Pittsburg. In addition to his work there, he 
opened a sub-recruiting rendezvous at Zanesville, O., 
and it was while returning from the latter place that 
he heard the first account of the battles of Palo Alto 
and Eesaca de la Palma. It was glorious news to 
our ambitious officer. No more dull recruiting for 
him ! Some of his colleagues might be very glad to 
take his berth at Pittsburg, and thus save them- 
selves from the dangers and annoyances of an active 
campaign, but he would gain fame fighting against 
the enemy ! So he straightway wrote to the Adju- 
tant-General of the army at Washington, asking to 
be considered as an applicant for active service. 
He goes on to relate : * ' Impatient to approach the 
scene of active operations, without authority (and, 
I suppose, wrongfully) I left my corporal in charge 
of the rendezvous, and took all the recruits I had 
made, about twenty-five, in a steamboat to Cincin- 
nati, and turned them over to Major N. C. McCrea, 
commanding at Newport Barracks. I then reported 
in Cincinnati, to the superintendent of the Western 
recruiting service, Colonel Fanning, an old officer 
with one arm, who inquired by what authority I 
had come away from my post." Whereupon Sher- 
man argued that he had supposed Colonel Fanning 
would want all the recruits that he could get to for- 
ward to the army at Brownsville, Texas, — "and I 
didn't know," he naively added, "but that you 
might want me to go along with them." 

Fanning did not see things exactly in this light. 



26 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

Instead of appreciating the "volunteer zeal " of the 
young man, he " cursed and swore" at him for 
leaving his post without orders, and told him to go 
back at once to Pittsburg. 

The crestfallen lieutenant obeyed the order. Soon 
thereafter he was assigned to Company F, Third 
Artillery, and sailed for California, via the lengthy 
route of Cape Horn, in July, 1846. There was no 
attractive Pullman-car route to the Pacific in 
those days. This assignment ended all his hopes 
of winning glory in the contest with Mexico. When 
he arrived in California he was, in reality, far away 
from the actual theatre of war, so that he must be 
content with making a reputation for himself in ad- 
ministrative ability, as acting adjutant-general un- 
der General Persifor F. Smith and in other duties. 

But those were the days of the "gold fever" in 
California, when a visit to the territory in any ca- 
pacity meant a liberal education. In the western 
slope of the Sierra Nevadas one was almost appalled 
by the ease with which the miners secured gold. 
"Many men," Sherman wrote home, "are already 
become rich, and others are growing so fast. All 
have their pockets full of gold, and everybody gets 
more than ten dollars daily for his personal labor, 
save those in the employ of Government — we are the 
sufferers. All prices have so advanced that we can- 
not possibly exist on our pay. . . . The sudden 
development of so much wealth has played the devil 
with the country. Everybody has gone there [to the 
mines], save women and officers. Our soldiers are 



A SCION OF PURITANS 27 

deserting and we can't stop it. A tailor won't 
work a day, nor a shoemaker, nor any other trades- 
man — all have gone to the mines." 

In January, 1850, Sherman returned to the east, 
bearing despatches to the War Department from 
General Smith. When in New York, on his way to 
Washington, he had the honor of dining with 
General Winfield Scott, the hero of the Mexican 
War, who was then looked upon as a species of 
American Napoleon. Scott related various anec- 
dotes connected with the lieutenant's old army com- 
rades in the battles around the City of Mexico, but 
the recital was not without bitterness for the hearer. 
" Of course," he records, " I thought it the last and 
only chance in my day, and that my career as a 
soldier was at an end." He could not then see that 
the Mexican War, with the addition of Texas to the 
Union, and the question, now become a burning one, 
of the increase of slave territory in the United 
States, was the prelude to a far fiercer, more tragic 
contest. General Scott, however, was more pro- 
phetic. "Our country is on the eve of a terrible 
civil war," he asserted to his guest. Sherman was 
startled ; the idea had never occurred to him. 

No doubt he dismissed the subject from his 
mind, nor had he reason to recur to it for several 
months. He hurried on to Washington, presented 
his despatches to the Secretary of War, had a 
pleasant interview with Zachary Taylor, then 
President, and found that his old guardian, Thomas 
Ewing, was now Secretary of the Interior. Then, 



28 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

for a time, all thoughts of war were forgotten, as in 
May of this year (1850) Lieutenant Sherman married 
Miss Ewing. The ceremony, which took place in 
Secretary Ewing' s home on Pennsylvania Avenue, 
had one feature which was enough to make the 
officer's heart beat with pride. President Taylor, 
Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Thomas H. Benton 
and many other distinguished Americans were 
present. A marriage at which Taylor, Webster 
and Clay were among the eye-witnesses now seems 
historic. Tradition has it that more than one 
Washingtonian dej)lored the fact that so charming 
and accomplished a girl as Ellen Ewing should 
have wasted her brilliant matrimonial chances by 
throwing herself away upon an "unknown lieuten- 
ant." The " unknown lieutenant," however, had 
that supreme faith in himself which we call egotism 
or inspiration, according as a man becomes a fail- 
ure or a success ; and it does not appear that he 
developed any conscientious qualms when he bore 
his bride away, defeating the expectations of more 
eligible suitors. 

After a wedding trip, which included a visit to 
the Shermans in Ohio, the couple returned to 
Washington (July 1, 1850). A few days later saw 
the death of President Taylor. The country was 
stunned. The passing of the chief magistrate was 
more than the personal loss to the nation of a fine 
soldier and an honest man. The question of the 
extension of slavery, growing out of the new terri- 
tories acquired from Mexico, was slowly bringing a 



A SCION OF PUKITANS 29 

crisis upon North and South, and politicians on each 
side of Mason and Dixon's line nervously asked 
themselves how the great issues would be affected 
by a change of administration. Congress was in 
session ; the alarm of many of its members was 
evident. 

"I was present in the Senate gallery," says Sher- 
man, * l and saw the oath of office administered to 
the Vice-President, Mr. Fillmore, a man of splendid 
physical proportions and commanding appearance ; 
but on the faces of senators and people could easily 
be read the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that 
prevailed. ... It was supposed that Mr. Fill- 
more, whose home was in Buffalo, would be less 
liberal than General Taylor to the politicians of the 
South, who feared, or pretended to fear, a crusade 
against slavery ; or, as was the political cry of the 
day, that slavery would be prohibited in the terri- 
tories and in the places exclusively under the juris- 
diction of the United States. Events, however, 
proved the contrary." 

Lieutenant Sherman attended the funeral of the 
President as an aide-de-camp, by request of the 
Adjutant-General of the army. After the burial, 
the political caldron began to seethe, and all inter- 
est centred around the general compromise measures 
known as Henry Clay's " Omnibus Bill." ' 

When it became known that Webster would 
enter Fillmore's cabinet as his Secretary of State, 

*See Rogers' "Thomas H. Benton " in the American Crisis 
Series. 



30 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

and that before leaving the Senate he was to 
make "one last great speech" on this bill, Lieu- 
tenant Sherman resolved to hear it. On the ap- 
pointed day he went to the Capitol, only to find the 
galleries of the old Senate Chamber (afterward used 
by the Supreme Court) filled to overflowing, with a 
crowd about the door struggling to reach the stairs. 
Sherman was therefore in danger of missing the 
speech. In this predicament he sent in his card to 
Senator Corwin, of Ohio, who had been a great 
friend of his father's. The senator came out into 
the lobby from the Senate Chamber, no doubt look- 
ing very important, for he was "slated" to be- 
come Fillmore's Secretary of the Treasury. The 
lieutenant modestly explained that he wished to 
hear Mr. Webster's "last great speech." 

"Well," snapped Corwin, "why don't you go 
into the gallery?" 

The soldier said that the gallery was already 
overflowing. 

"Well, what do you want of me?" asked the 
Senator, still not very encouragingly. 

Sherman said he would like to be taken on the 
floor of the Senate ; for he had often seen there, 
from a coigne of vantage in the gallery, persons no 
better entitled than himself to the privilege. 

" Are you a foreign ambassador ? " asked Corwin, 
with a quizzical expression on his shrewd face. 

"No!" 

" Or a governor of a state? " 

"No." 



A SCION OF PURITANS 31 

" Are you a member of the House of Representa- 
tives?" 

" Certainly not," answered the lieutenant, em- 
phatically. 

" Have you ever had a vote of thanks by name ? " 

"No!" 

' ' Well, these are the only persons privileged to 
go on the floor of the Senate," said Corwin. 

Nothing daunted, Sherman replied : "You know 
well enough who I am, Senator, and, if you choose, 
you can take me in." 

The senator hesitated for a moment. Then he 
asked : u Have you any impudence % " 

"A reasonable amount, if occasion calls for it," 
was the ready response. 

" Do you think you could become so interested in 
my conversation as not to notice the doorkeeper ? ' ' 
Here Corwin pointed to the official who kept guard 
at the Senate door. 

Sherman replied diplomatically, — and it was not 
often, be it said, that he was guilty of the gentle art 
of diplomacy — that he thought he would have no 
trouble on that score, if the senator would only tell 
him one of his funny stories. 

Corwin took the lieutenant by the arm, led him 
up and down the vestibule, talking all the time 
about some indifferent matter, and thus approached 
the doorkeeper. The latter, espying a stranger, be- 
gan to question Sherman with : ' i Are you a foreign 
minister? The governor of a state? Are you a 
member of Congress, sir ?" 



32 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

But Sherman was so much engrossed in the sena- 
tor's conversation that he neglected to hear the 
queries, and so the two men passed, arm-in-arm, 
into the Senate Chamber. 

When Sherman had entered the room, Corwin 
said: " Now you can take care of yourself." The 
young officer, acting on the hint, took a seat close 
behind that of Daniel Webster, near General Scott, 
and heard the famous speech. He was greatly dis- 
appointed. This much-heralded effort of the New 
Englander sounded to his expectant ears " heavy in 
the extreme," not to say, tiresome. The fire and 
intensity of a Henry Clay seemed to be sadly miss- 
ing, i 

The great slavery question was again compro- 
mised and thus it was that Lieutenant Sherman had 
no reason to believe he would ever see active mili- 
tary service. It seemed as if the nation were to ex- 
ist, as Lincoln a little later said it could not, "half 
slave, and half free." and many conscientious men, 
among them not a few who loathed the institution 
of slavery, hoped that this might be the case. 



CHAPTEE II 

AMONG FRIENDS — AND ENEMIES 

For several years after the death of President 
Taylor the career of Sherman offered little that was 
picturesque or of absorbing interest. In the autumn 
of 1850 he was appointed a commissary of subsist- 
ence, with the rank of captain, and assigned to duty 
at St. Louis ; in March of the following year he re- 
ceived a commission as captain by brevet " for 
meritorious services in California during the war 
with Mexico." In September of 1852 the captain 
was transferred to New Orleans. All this work was 
helpful, healthy, and experience-giving, but hardly 
exciting. The compensation was not large, pecu- 
niarily, and Sherman now had a wife and two chil- 
dren to support. That he finally tired of the dull 
routine and small pay of the army is shown by the 
following letter to John Sherman : 

' ' New Orleans, La. , March 4, 1853. 
"Dear Brother : 

" I suppose you have heard of my proposed de- 
parture for California. It is proper you should have 
distinct information on this head. . . . I go as 
a member of the banking house of Lucas and Turner, 
a branch of that of Lucas and Simonds, of St. Louis. 
Turner is a particular friend of mine, and is already 



34 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

in California ; lie is quite wealthy. Lucas is de- 
cidedly the richest property holder in St. Louis and 
has credit unlimited. Now I, of course, could not 
have better associates in business, if I am ever to 
quit the army, and in these prosperous times salaried 
men suffer. Nevertheless, I was unwilling to resign, 
and have procured leave of absence for six months, 
at the end of which time I can best determine what 
to do." 

This letter tells its own story and shows why 
Captain Sherman was soon back in California, this 
time as a prosperous banker who had been promised 
a tempting income and a solid interest in the new 
firm of Lucas, Turner and Company of San Fran- 
cisco. The city was then on the top wave of specu- 
lative prosperity ; in short, it was enjoying what 
would now be called a typical western " boom." 

"This is the most extraordinary place on earth," 
Sherman wrote home. l ' Large brick and granite 
houses fill the site where stood the poor, contempti- 
ble village ; wharves extend a mile out, along which 
lie ships and steamers of the largest class. . . . 
My business here is the best going, provided we 
have plenty of money. Without it, I stick to Uncle 
Sam most emphatically." 

But the writer did not "stick to Uncle Sam." 
The house of Lucas, Turner and Company promised 
to transact a large business, at good profits, while 
life in the army apparently held out nothing more 
seductive than sleepy garrison duty and poor pay. 
So Sherman returned to the east in the midsummer 



AMONG FKIENDS— AND ENEMIES 35 

of 1853, promptly resigned from the army, and then 
went back to California, accompanied by his wife 
and children. The ex-captain now settled down to 
the life of a financier : he fondly believed that his 
military career, honorable but uneventful, had come 
to a commonplace end. From now on, he thought, 
he would devote himself to winning the much needed 
income for his family. 

Events, however, were leading up to different re- 
sults : politics had grown heated once more ; shrewd 
observers began to see that the " Compromises of 
1850" would not save the country from further agi- 
tation of the slavery question. In the South the 
leaders were fast growing angry ; in the North, more 
particularly in New England, the Abolitionists were 
doing all they could, by their violence of speech, to 
hasten dreaded times. 

Sherman watched the course of events with con- 
suming interest. One reads his trenchant views of 
affairs in the letters to his brother, John. Let us 
make several brief quotations : 

"As a young member [of Congress] I hope you 
will not be too forward, especially on the question 
of slavery, which, it seems, is rising more and more 
every year into a question of real danger, notwith- 
standing the compromises. Having lived a good 
deal in the South I know practically more of slavery 
than you do. If it were a new question no one 
now would contend for introducing it ; but it is an 
old and historical fact that you must take as you 
find it. . . . Negroes free wonH work tasks, of 



36 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

course, and rice, sugar, and certain kinds of cotton 
cannot be produced except by forced negro labor. 
Slavery being a fact is chargeable upon the past ; it 
cannot by our system, be abolished except by force 
and consequent breaking up of our present Govern- 
ment. As to restraining its further growth, the 
North have a perfect right to their full vote, and 
should, as a matter of course, use it. . . . Let 
slavery extend along the shores of the Gulf of 
Mexico, but not in the high salubrious prairies of 
the West. It was a mistake to make Missouri a 
slave state ; but it was done long ago, and now 
there is no remedy except in the state itself. 
Slavery can never exist here, or north of us, so 
the North now has the power, and can exercise it 
in prudence and moderation. ' ' (November 30, 1854. 
The italics are ours.) 

" Time and faets are accomplishing all you aim 
at ; vie., the preponderance of the free over the slave 
states. This is so manifest that the politicians 
and people of the South feel it, and consequently 
are tetchy and morose. . . . The repeal of 
the [Missouri] Compromise was unfortunate, but be- 
ing done, to repeal it would only produce feeling 
and no good. Kansas will be a free state, so will 
Missouri and Kentucky in time ; but the way to 
accomplish that is to let things go on as now, show- 
ing the eminent prosperity of the free states, whilst 
the slave states get along slowly. Self-interest is 
the great motor. . . . Therefore to accomplish 
any political end, no provoking speeches are neces- 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 37 

sary, but on the contrary defeat the object in view." 
(March 20, 1856.) 

" The Nebraska bill was a mistake on the part of 
the South ; a vital mistake that will do them more 
harm than all the violent Abolitionists in the 
country. . . . My idea is to leave our present 
limits alone until we have more population, and 
then to make other adjacent territories pay for 
coming in the Union." 

" I see you are placed on the Committee of For- 
eign Relations, which is deemed a compliment. 
Since you are embarked in politics I shall watch 
your course with deep interest, and of all things I 
shall expect you to avoid localism, and to act as a 
representative of a great developing nation rather 
than a mere emblem of the freaks and prejudices 
of a small constituency." 

" Since my resignation I have kept purposely 
aloof from all parties, either one way or the other ; 
being in a business where large interests are at stake, 
I cannot act with that decision otherwise that would 
suit me." 

"Unless people, both North and South, learn 
more moderation, we'll see sights in the way of 
civil war. Of course the North have the strength 
and must prevail, though the people of the South 
could and would be desperate enough. I hope in 
Congress you will resolve yourself into the fighting 
branch and work off some of the surplus steam 
that is threatening to blow up the Union." 

These glimpses of Sherman's opinions on the 



38 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

burning issues of the day, however brief, are 
very interesting, in that they show the views of 
many like him, who, while neither condoning nor 
wishing to approve the system of slavery, yet hoped 
that the question would be allowed to settle 
itself peaceably, — first, by compromise, and finally 
by abolition through a process of gradual but sure 
extinction. Nor was he at any time, then or later, 
what the Southerners were wont to call a ' ' negro 
worshipper. " He desired to see the black men 
free, as the years should run on, but he had no illu- 
sions about them. Had he not lived in the 
South? Well-meaning but impracticable en- 
thusiasts for negro equality and other impossible 
conditions are usually residents of sections where 
the negro himself is little in evidence. 

Time passed quickly, in California, for the rapid 
life of the people, with its strange contrasts 
— fortunes made and lost in the twinkling of an 
eye, honesty, rascality, shrewdness, recklessness, 
wealth, penury, lawlessness, mob-violence, occa- 
sional lynchings, and what not? — furnished a 
landscape of variegated if somewhat dangerous 
coloring. Some of this coloring or picturesque - 
ness was to be found in what was perhaps the most 
exciting incident of Sherman's civilian career, — 
nothing less, indeed, than a sensational "run" on 
the bank of Lucas, Turner and Company. A rival 
banking house, that of Page, Bacon and Company, 
had been forced to suspend a day or two previ- 
ously, owing to a" run ' 7 of its own ; and the mer- 



AMONG FKIENDS— AND ENEMIES 39 

curial citizens of San Francisco, their confidence in 
financial institutions rudely shaken, nervously asked 
themselves whether other banks, too, might not 
collapse. Another bank did suspend at once, and 
Sherman, who was now practically the head of his 
own firm, coolly prepared for the onslaught which 
he knew would be made by the depositors. 

The "run" came, surely enough, the next morn- 
ing. Punctually to the minute the bank opened 
its doors, and an hysterical crowd rushed in. 
"As usual, the most noisy and clamorous were 
men and women who held small certificates ; still, 
others with larger accounts, were in the crowd, 
pushing forward for their balances." All claims 
were promptly met. Several friends of Sherman 
merely asked his word of honor that their money 
was safe, and, on receiving the necessary assur- 
ance, went away without drawing it out. Others 
accepted gold bars in lieu of coin. Out in the street 
charitable persons were making bets as to the hour 
at which Lucas, Turner and Company would close 
their doors ; — and all the time other firms were 
reported to be in trouble. 

Sherman remained cool and confident, showing 
the same presence of mind and mental poise that he 
afterward exhibited so nobly in military crises. 
He even detected the humor of the situation. ' ' This 
run on the bank," he relates in his "Memoirs," 
"presented all the features, serious and comical, 
usual to such occasions. At our counter happened 
that identical case, narrated of others, of the French- 



40 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

man who was nearly squeezed to death in getting to 
the counter, and, when he received his money, did 
not know what to do with it. c If you got the money 
I no want him ; but if you no got him, I want it 
like the devil.' " 

Many depositors shared the feelings of the French- 
man. When they received their money and found 
the bank still solvent, they began to re-deposit it. 
In short, the pluck and apparent placidity of Sher- 
man, combined with the precautions he had taken 
to keep the bank in funds, saved the day. The firm 
of Lucas, Turner and Company emerged from the 
ordeal triumphantly, amid the wreckage of other 
banks and other fortunes. But public confidence 
in general finances was greatly shaken ; business 
became unsettled ; and finally the San Francisco 
house of Lucas, Turner and Company wound up its 
affairs in honorable fashion. Its closing was done 
at the suggestion of Sherman, who reported to Mr. 
Lucas, the senior partner, that the latter' s capital 
could be used much more profitably in St. Louis. 
In July, 1857, the ex- captain was established in 
New York, as manager of a new Wall Street firm, 
bearing the old name of Lucas, Turner and Com- 
pany. 1 

Owing to the failure of Mr. Lucas, in St. Louis, 
the new house was soon obliged to go out of business. 

1 Before dismissing Sherman's California experiences it may 
be noted that he was commissioned major-general of the Second 
Division of the State Militia, and narrowly escaped an exciting 
brush with a local Vigilance Committee, which tried to set 
itself above the law. 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 41 

It is pleasant to record, however, that when the af- 
fairs of the firm were straightened out, as they 
speedily were, no one lost a cent through the crash. 
Lucas and Sherman emerged with honor unscathed. 

Sherman now went back to San Francisco, at the 
request of Mr. Lucas, to make a final liquidation of 
the business of the California house. In the latter 
part of July, 1858, he was again at his old home, in 
Lancaster, Ohio. "I was then unhampered," he 
records, "but the serious and greater question re- 
mained,— what was I to do to support my family, 
consisting of a wife and four children, all accus- 
tomed to more than the average comforts of life f ' ' 
In writing to John Sherman, about this time, he 
made two remarkable prophecies, one of which was 
to come true in several years, while the other would 
not be verified until he had gone over to the great 
army of the dead : 

" I think in the next ten years we will have plenty 
to do in the war line — Mormon war, civil broils and 
strife, contests for political power, growing out of 
slavery and other exciting topics, and last a war 
with Spain, resulting in the conquest of Cuba." 

Events were certainly moving apace ; history was 
being made rapidly. Already the present Repub- 
lican party was an accomplished fact. Politics, 
however, were hardly so engrossing to our ex- officer 
and ex-banker as the thought of mouths to be fed. 
In this predicament, while discussing "what to do 
next," Sherman went out to Leavenworth, Kansas, 
as a partner in a law firm established by two of 



42 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

Thomas Ewing's sons. He was not expected to 
give more than passing attention to the purely legal 
business of the firm ; his duties were to be in the 
line of collections and such details as his banking 
experience had qualified him for more eminently. 
Yet it was expedient that Sherman should take out 
a "license 77 as a lawyer. "What examination 
must I submit to ? " he inquired of Judge Lecompte. 
"None at all," replied his' honor ; "I will admit 
you on the ground of general intelligence ! " Thus 
Sherman became a member of the bar. 

Fortunately for his country, as it came to pass, 
Sherman's income from the firm proved hardly suf- 
ficient for the wants of his growing family. He 
looked around for something more to do. Being a 
man who always stared things frankly in the face, 
he must have asked himself more than once whether 
life had been a failure. As good luck would have 
it, a military college was about to be organized 
near Alexandria, Louisiana. Sherman applied for 
the position of superintendent, was elected thereto, 
and started for his new scene of work in the autumn 
of 1859. If "civil broils" could only be averted, 
he would doubtless spend many a year in the 
South. 

It is significant of the bitterness engendered by 
the Civil War that two of Sherman's biographers 
(the authors of ' ' Sherman and His Campaigns, ' ' pub • 
lished in 1865) should have regarded his appointment 
as superintendent as part of a great conspiracy of 
the Southern leaders. Here is the scheme these 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 43 

biographers set forth, as it affected Captain Sher- 
man : During President Buchanan's administra- 
tion there was started throughout the slave states a 
movement for the reorganization of the militia, the 
establishment and enlargement of state military 
academies, and the collection of arms and other 
munitions of war. The Federal Secretary of War, 
Mr. Floyd, " thoroughly in the interests of the pro- 
slavery conspirators, aided them by sending to the 
arsenals in the slave states large quantities of the 
national arms and military supplies," and caused 
large sales of arms to be made secretly, at low 
prices, to the agents of these states. "The pro- 
slavery leaders then began, quietly, to select and 
gather round them the men whom they needed, and 
upon whom they thought they could rely. ' ' Among 
the men thus fixed upon, according to this ingenious 
theory, was Captain William Tecumseh Sherman. 
' ' Eecognizing his aptitude in military art and sci- 
ence, the leaders in Louisiana determined to place 
him at the head of the new State Military Acad- 
emy at Alexandria. It was explained to him that 
the object of establishing the school was to aid in 
suppressing negro insurrections ; to enable the state 
to protect her borders from the Indian incursions, 
then giving trouble in Arkansas and Texas ; and to 
form a nucleus for defense, in case of an attack by 
a foreign enemy." 

The question as to what extent, — how much or 
how little — the Southern leaders prepared for the 
inevitable war — now, happily, merely an academic 



44 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

question — need not be discussed here. But it is 
absurd to think that there was any plot to bring 
Sherman to Louisiana for the purpose of winning 
him over to Southern allegiance. Had he ulti- 
mately thrown in his fortune with the Confeder- 
acy, Louisianians would have been pleased, natu- 
rally enough, but there was nothing of the under- 
hand in the appointment. At the time the above- 
mentioned biography was written, however, North- 
erners and Southerners were not devising compli- 
ments about each other ; the " era of good feeling " 
had not yet dawned. 

On New Year's Day of 1860 the " Louisiana Semi- 
nary of Learning and Military Academy" was 
opened " auspiciously," with an attendance of about 
sixty cadets who were to be educated on lines as 
near as possible to the West Point standard. Every- 
thing promised a happy and congenial existence for 
the superintendent, who was taking a deep interest 
in the progress of the new institution. But as the 
weeks went on he began to see that, owing to the in- 
creasing political turmoil, his position was not a bed 
of roses. John Sherman was a candidate, in the na- 
tional House of Representatives, for the speakership, 
against Bocock, of Virginia, and as he was regarded 
in the South as an Abolitionist — "the most hor- 
rible of all monsters" — a great many people in 
Louisiana began to look upon his brother, the cap- 
tain, with a good deal of suspicion. Was it wise, 
they asked, to have the brother of an Abolitionist at 
the head of their military college % 



AMONG FBIENDS— AND ENEMIES 45 

Oue evening, at Baton Bouge, Sherman attended 
a large dinner party given by Thomas O. Moore, 
the Governor of Louisiana. A number of men 
prominent in the official life of the state were pres- 
ent. When the ladies had left the table, and the 
wine and coffee were circulating, the superintend- 
ent heard his name being frequently used at the end 
of the board over which the host presided. At 
length the governor called to him : " Captain Sher- 
man, you can readily understand that with your 
brother the Abolitionist candidate for speaker, some 
of our people wonder that you should be here, at 
the head of an important state institution. Now, 
you are at my table, and I assure you of my confi- 
dence. Won't you speak your mind freely on this 
question of slavery, that so agitates the land ? You 
are under my roof, and, whatever you say, you have 
my protection." 

This was a sufficient challenge to Sherman. He 
answered: "Governor Moore, you mistake in call- 
ing my brother, John Sherman, an Abolitionist. 
We have been separated since childhood — I in the 
army, and he pursuing his profession of law in 
northern Ohio, and it's possible we may differ in 
general sentiment ; but I deny that he is considered 
at home an Abolitionist. Although he prefers the 
free institutions under which he lives to those of 
slavery which prevail here, he would not of himself 
take from you by law or force any property what- 
ever, even slaves." 

" Give us your own view of slavery as you see it 



46 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

here, and throughout the South," replied the gover- 
nor. 

This was, in substance, the superintendent's an- 
swer : " The people of Louisiana are hardly respon- 
sible for slavery, because they have inherited it. I 
have found here two distinct conditions of slavery, 
domestic and field hands. The domestic slaves, em- 
ployed by the families, are probably better treated 
than any slaves on earth ; but the condition of the 
field hands is far different, depending more on the 
temper and disposition of their masters and over- 
seers than are those employed about the house. 
Were I a citizen of Louisiana and a member of the 
legislature I would deem it wise to bring the legal 
condition of the slaves more near the status of 
human beings under all Christian and civilized 
governments. In sales of slaves made by the state 
I would forbid the separation of families, letting the 
father, mother and children be sold together to one 
person, instead of each to the highest bidder. 
Again, I would advise the repeal of the statute 
which enacted a severe penalty for even the owner 
to teach his slave to read and write, because that 
actually qualified property and took away a part of 
its value. For instance, there's the case of Henry 
Sampson, once the slave of Colonel Chambers, of 
Eapides Parish, who went to California as the serv- 
ant of an officer of the army, and who was after- 
ward employed by me in my bank in San Fran- 
cisco. At first he could not read or write, and I 
could only afford to pay him $100 a month ; but he 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 47 

was taught to read and write by Beilly, our bank- 
teller, when his services became worth $250 a 
month, which enabled him to buy his own freedom, 
and that of his brother and his family." 

One of the listeners (Sherman thought it was At- 
torney-General Hyams) struck the table with his fist, 
making the wine glasses ring, as he exclaimed : 
"By Heaven, he is right!" Then followed for 
an hour a discussion which was pursued to its 
finish in all moderation and fairness on both 
sides. 

There is no doubt that many a Southerner would 
have been only too glad to see slavery abolished 
then and there, had he been able to divine how it 
could be done without involving him in financial 
ruin. But the most rabid Abolitionists in the North 
refused to see this financial phase of the situation, 
although they would have been the very first to cry 
out had any one sought to attack their own vested 
interests. 

Sherman still hoped for moderation and compro- 
mise on the part of all concerned. "It would be 
the height of folly to drive the South to despera- 
tion," he tells John Sherman, "and I hope, after 
the fact is admitted that the North has the majority 
and right to control national matters, they will so 
use their power as to reassure the South that there 
is no intention to disturb the actual existence of 
slavery. ... If our country falls into anarchy 
it will be Mexico, only worse. Disunion would be 
civil war, and you politicians would lose all charm. 



48 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

Military men would then step on the tapis, and you 
would have to retire." 

As the year 1860 progressed the position of Cap- 
tain Sherman in Alexandria became more and more 
strained — "too strained for comfort." The elec- 
tion of Lincoln to the presidency in November, 
only increased the storm-clouds. "All attempts at 
reconciliation will fail," said Sherman several 
weeks later. As he was determined to remain true 
to the cause of the North, in case of open rupture, 
he lamented that his probable resignation from the 
Military Academy would make his fourth change 
of occupation in four years, "each time from ca- 
lamity." And John Sherman was writing to 
him imperatively from Washington : ' ' The very 
moment you feel uncomfortable in your position in 
Louisiana, come away. Don't, for God's sake, sub- 
ject yourself to any slur, reproach, or indignity." 

The break soon came. South Carolina seceded 
in December, and Mississippi soon afterward; 
Louisiana was now ripe for revolt from the Union. 
Early in January, 1861, Governor Moore ordered 
the seizure of all the United States forts at the 
mouth of the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain, 
and of the United States arsenal at Baton Eouge. 
It seemed the irony of fate that 2, 000 muskets, 300 
rifles, and a large amount of cartridges, which 
formed part of the contents of the arsenal, should 
have been sent, after its quick surrender, to the 
custody of Captain Sherman, in Alexandria. l i This 
grated hard on my feelings," he says, "and on 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 49 

counting the arms I noticed that they were packed 
in the old familiar boxes, with the 'U. S.' simply 
scratched off." It was, therefore, not long before 
he had despatched to Governor Moore the following 
letter, which is a classic in its way : 

"Sir: As I occupy a quasi-military position 
under the laws of the state, I deem it proper to ac- 
quaint you that I accepted such position when 
Louisiana was a state in the Union, and when the 
motto of this seminary was inserted in marble over 
the main door : ' By the Liberality of the General 
Government of the United States — The Union : 
Esto Perpetual 

"Becent events foreshadow a great change, and 
it becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana with- 
draw from the Federal Union, I prefer to maintain 
my allegiance to the Constitution as long as a frag- 
ment of it survives ; and my longer stay here would 
be wrong in every sense of the word. 

"In that event, I beg you will send or appoint 
some authorized agent to take charge of the arms 
and munitions of war belonging to the state, or ad- 
vise me what disposition to make of them. 

"And furthermore, as President of the Board of 
Supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps to 
relieve me as superintendent, the moment the state 
determines to secede, for on no earthly account will 
I do any act or think any thought hostile to or in 
defiance of the old Government of the United 
States. 

"With great respect, your obedient servant, 
"W. T. Sherman, 

' ' Superintendent. ' ? 

Nothing could be more admirable in its construe- 



50 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

tion, temper and air of polite yet dignified adhesion 
to Federal principles than this letter. It was a 
graceful yet decisive move to relieve the writer 
from an untenable and illogical situation. 

In addition to this official letter Sherman sent a 
private one to the governor wherein he said 
frankly: "I have never been a politician, and 
therefore undervalue the excited feelings and opin- 
ions of present rulers, but I do think, if this people 
cannot execute a form of government like the pres- 
ent, that a worse one will result. I will keep the 
cadets as quiet as possible. They are nervous, but 
I think the interest of the state requires them here, 
guarding this property and acquiring a knowl- 
edge which will be useful to your state in after 
times." 

Throughout this whole episode Sherman acted 
with the scrupulousness that always marked him, 
and with a tact which he did not always choose to 
show. It was argued in certain Southern quarters 
during the war that he had been guilty of a breach 
of hospitality in taking up arms against the Seces- 
sionists, but that was merely a criticism engendered 
by the acrimony of civil strife, and, possibly, by 
disappointment that so accomplished an army 
officer had been lost to their cause. 

The moderation of the captain in his views on 
the slavery issue, his hopes for compromise, his 
want of sympathy for the fanatical "negro wor- 
shippers," and the fact that he understood the 
intricate economic conditions existing in the slave 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 51 

states, may have made some of the Louisianians 
hope that he would throw in his lot south of Masou 
and Dixon's line. And here one is confronted 
with an interesting if somewhat idle query. Had 
Sherman been a resident of Louisiana for, say, ten 
years, at the outbreak of the "late unpleasantness," 
and had he come to look at things more and more 
from the view-point of Dixie, might he not have 
decided, when the final word came, to fight for his 
" adopted state" ? Some readers may indignantly 
cry, "No; it is impossible! What an idea!" 
But let it not be forgotten that environment moulds 
even the strongest men, and much talking of poli- 
tics may wear away even a native of Ohio. There 
is certainly something entertainingly paradoxical 
in the thought of Sherman enlisted under the 
"stars and bars," and a possible substitution of 
"Marching through Pennsylvania" for "March- 
ing through Georgia! " 

One thing is certain. The authorities of the 
Military Academy, including the governor and 
other officials, parted from Sherman with a sense 
of deep personal regret, which they showed by 
adopting resolutions, hardly less laudatory than the 
minutes that boards of bank directors are wont to 
adopt for their deceased presidents or cashiers. 
The superintendent said farewell to Alexandria 
and proceeded to New Orleans, where he wound up 
his connection with the financial affairs of the insti- 
tution. His accounts were audited and found to be 
correct ; he was now ready to go North with a clear 



52 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

conscience and the esteem of the men who were to 
be his political enemies for four long years. 

At the hotel in New Orleans he sat at the 
table with Colonel (afterward General) Braxton 
Bragg and Mrs. Bragg. Jefferson Davis and Alex- 
ander H. Stephens had just been elected President 
and Vice-President, respectively, of the Confeder- 
acy. During one of the meals Mrs. Bragg, in re- 
ferring to a recent military appointment made by 
Mr. Davis, said : " You know that my husband is 
not a favorite with the new President." 

Captain Sherman's mind was dwelling upon 
Abraham Lincoln as the new President, so he 
answered : "I didn't know that Colonel Bragg had 
ever met Mr. Lincoln." 

"I didn't mean your President, but our Presi- 
dent," pointedly replied Mrs. Bragg. It was evi- 
dent, although Fort Sumter had not yet been fired 
upon, that the conflict between the states had al- 
ready earnestly begun. 

While in New Orleans, Sherman visited Colo- 
nel A. C. Myers, quartermaster, who had resigned 
from the United States army, and accepted service 
under the Confederacy. Myers occupied his old 
office in the Lafayette Square Building, with the 
letters "TJ. S." still plainly in evidence on his 
desk, papers and articles of furnishing. " Don't 
you feel funny?" asked the captain. 

"Why no, not at all," replied Myers. "The 
thing was inevitable ; secession is a complete suc- 
cess ; there will be no war ; the two governments 



AMONG FRIENDS— AND ENEMIES 53 

will settle all matters of business in a friendly 
spirit, and each will go on in its allotted sphere 
without further confusion." Indeed, there were 
many good people, North and South, who thought 
that the Union would be split in twain without the 
loss of a drop of blood. This mood is reflected in 
the memorable lines by Oliver Wendell Holmes on 
the secession of South Carolina: 

" She has goue— she has left us in passion and pride, — 
Our stormy-browed sister so long at our side ! 
She has torn her own star from our firmament's glow, 
And turned on her brother the face of a foe ! 

" O Caroline, Caroline, child of the sun, 
We can never forget that our hearts have been one, — 
Our foreheads both sprinkled in Liberty's name, 
From the fountain of blood with the finger of flame ! 



" Has our love all died out? Have its altars grown cold ? 
Has the curse come at last which the fathers foretold ? 
Then Nature must teach us the strength of the chain 
That her petulant children would sever in vain. 

" Go then, our rash sister ! afar and aloof, — 
Kun wild in the sunshine, away from our roof ; 
But when your heart aches, and your feet have grown sore, 
Kemember the pathway that leads to our door. ' ' 1 

In this poem we have regret at the secession of 
" Sister Caroline," and the prophecy that she will 
finally come back into the Union ; but there is no 

" Brother Jonathan's Lament for Sister Caroline." 



54 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

thought that her conduct will cost the lives of thou- 
sands upon thousands of men on both sides. 

It was this "Lament" that brought forth, in re- 
ply, the famous verses which began : 

' ' Farewell ! We must part ; we have turned from the land 
Of our cold-hearted brother, with tyrannous hand, 
Who assumed all our rights as a favor to grant, 
And whose smiles ever covered the sting of a taunt." 

Speaking of the sentiment in New Orleans at this 
time, Sherman records that the people there con- 
sidered that Louisiana, by a mere declaration of the 
fact, had become a free and independent state, — free 
to enter into any new alliance or combination which 
she chose. i ' Men were being enlisted and armed, 
to defend the state, and there was not the least evi- 
dence that the national administration designed to 
make any effort, by force, to vindicate the national 
authority. I therefore bade adieu to all my friends, 
and, about the 25th of February (1861) took my de- 
parture by railroad for Lancaster, via Cairo and 
Cincinnati." 

Sherman had closed another phase of his career. 
He was now about to emerge upon a stage where he 
would become, in time, one of the commanding 
figures, as well as one of the most hated of men 
among many of his old friends in the Southern 
states. 



CHAPTER III 

THE COMING OF THE STORM 

Sherman went northward with feelings of a 
gloomy nature. During his stay in Louisiana he 
had maintained his family comfortably in Lancaster, 
O. ; but now his salary as superintendent was at 
an end, and once more he was compelled to ask : 
" How am I to support my wife and little ones? " 
Even if civil war should come, he did not see how 
it could give him an employment generous enough 
to provide for those dependent upon him. He 
seems, at this time, to have been disposed to take a 
bitter, sarcastic view of the country's situation. 
He argued that the national crisis had been brought 
about by the politicians, North as well as South, 
and he believed, as a matter of ironic justice, that 
they should " fight it out" themselves. There was 
always that same loathing, wherein one insensibly 
sympathizes, for the mischief- making of the aver- 
age "statesman," selfish and dangerous of tongue. 

On the way home to Lancaster, the captain lis- 
tened carefully to the talking, ofttimes loud and vio- 
lent, of his fellow passengers. In the South, as he 
tells us, the people were earnest and angry in their 
determination to break their bonds with the old 
Union ; whereas to the northward he saw nothing 



56 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

but apathy. It looked to him as if the people of the 
North would tamely submit to secession. "The 
orators of the South used, openly and constantly, 
the expressions that there would be no war, and 
that a lady's thimble would hold all the blood to be 
shed." 

On reaching Lancaster, and rejoining his family, 
Sherman found two important letters awaiting him. 
One was from his brother, John Sherman, urgently 
asking him to come to Washington ; the other was 
a hint from St. Louis that he would, if he so de- 
sired, be made president of the Fifth Street Passen- 
ger Eailway in that city, at a salary of $2,500 a 
year. Twenty-five hundred dollars was a much 
larger income before the war than it is in this lux- 
urious decade ; Sherman resolved to accept the 
position. But first he would visit John Sherman, 
as requested, and talk over the national situation 
with him. 

He reached Washington just after the inaugura- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln. The capital presented a 
curious spectacle of unrest ; the people there acted 
as if they were living on the edge of a volcano, and 
knew not at what minute an eruption might occur. 
The Southerners alone seemed confident, as their 
representatives and senators were publicly with- 
drawing from Congress to join the new congress of 
the Confederacy. 

John Sherman, now a senator from Ohio, soon 
took his brother to call on the new President. The 
interview was not an altogether satisfactory one to 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 57 

the visitors. Perhaps Lincoln was not in a good 
humor, owing to the cares of his position, or the 
importunity of those office-seekers who besieged 
him during the early months of his administration. 

"Mr. President," said the senator, introducing 
the visitor, "this is my brother, who is just up 
from Louisiana ; he may give you some information 
you want." 

"Ah!" said Lincoln, carelessly, "how are you 
getting along down there? " 

1 ' They think they are getting along swimmingly, ' ' 
answered Sherman, in a sarcastic vein ; "they are 
preparing for war ! " 

"Oh, well, I guess we'll manage to keep house," 
said the President, laconically. 

Sherman, as it may be imagined, was "sadly dis- 
appointed" at what seemed to be the singular in- 
difference of Lincoln to the condition of affairs 
in the South. John Sherman, in his "Recol- 
lections," says, apropos of this interview, that 
while Lincoln did say, "I guess we'll manage to 
keep house," he also expressed a hope, which Will- 
iam T. Sherman knew to be delusive, that the dan- 
ger would pass by, " and that the Union would be 
restored by a peaceful compromise." According 
to the senator, this was undoubtedly the idea then 
uppermost in the minds of both the President and 
Mr. Seward. "At this time the public mind in 
the North was decidedly in favor of concessions to 
the South." 

When the two brothers were on their way back 



58 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

from the White House, William Tecumseh burst 
forth into abuse of the politicians. " You have all 

got things in a of a fix ! " he growled, using 

an expression more forcible than complimentary, 
i ' and you may get them out as you best can. As 
for me, I am going to St. Louis to take care of my 
family, and will have no more to do with it." 

John Sherman begged his brother to be more 
patient, but the latter only answered that he would 
not be patient ; he "had no time to wait" ; he was 
"off for St. Louis." And off to St. Louis he went 
forthwith, after making a stop at Lancaster for his 
family. On the first of April he was installed presi- 
dent of the Fifth Street Passenger Eailway. He 
tried hard to settle down to his prosaic duties, with- 
out thought of the storm that was gathering over 
the nation, but it was no easy work for a man of his 
decided temperament to ignore facts. Events were 
moving apace, for Major Anderson, at Fort Sumter, 
was soon to be bombarded, and the torch of war 
would then be aflame. The struggle was now on 
for the possession of the border states. Missouri 
had become uncertain ground ; in St. Louis, where 
the excitement was at the highest pitch, the Confed- 
erate flag was publicly displayed from the " Eebel " 
headquarters at Fifth and Pine Streets. In LindelP s 
Grove, at the end of Olive Street, there was a ' ' state 
camp of instruction" which was, beyond doubt, in 
the interests of the Southern cause, and " designed 
to be used against the national authority in the 
event of the general government's attempting to 



THE COMING OF THE STOEM 59 

coerce the Southern Confederacy." In the arsenal 
were several companies of regulars, under the com- 
mand of Captain Lyon. Heated discussions took 
place every night at the hotels and taverns ; neigh- 
bors of long-time intimacy began to quarrel ; the 
newspapers grew hysterical ; threats of violence 
against either "Bebels" or " Abolitionists " were 
heard on the respective sides. 

At this stage of the turmoil Sherman received the 
following telegram, under date of April 6th : 

" Will you accept the chief clerkship of the War 
Department ? We will make you Assistant Secre- 
tary of War when Congress meets. 

" Montgomery Blair, 

i i Postmaster- General. ' ' 

To this communication Sherman briefly replied 
by telegraph: "I cannot accept." He supple- 
mented the refusal by a letter to the postmaster- 
general, in which he explained that he had just ac- 
cepted a position as president of a street railway 
company ; that he had rented a house and incurred 
other obligations, and did not feel at liberty to 
make any change. He added that he wished the 
new administration "all success in its almost im- 
possible task of governing this distracted and an- 
archical people." 

Sherman's experience upon his visit to Lincoln 
may not have been conducive to an enthusiastic re- 
ception of Blair's offer, but Mrs. Thorndike is right 
when she says that "in writing to explain his re- 



60 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

fusal he does not state the real reason, which was 
undoubtedly that he preferred active service," in 
the field. 1 

John Sherman thoroughly approved of his broth- 
er's determination not to take a civilian position 
under the government, for he had great faith in 
William's ability as a soldier. " You ought to hold 
yourself in reserve," the senator quickly writes 
from Washington. " If troops are called for, as 
they surely will be in a few days, organize a regi- 
ment or brigade, either in St. Louis or Ohio, and 
you will then get into the army in such a way as to 
ensure promotion. By all means take advantage of 
the present disturbances to get into the army, where 
you will at once put yourself in a high position for 
life. I know that promotion and every facility for 
advancement will be cordially extended by the au- 
thorities." The writer adds what, in view of the 
gloomy outlook, was a wonderful and daring 
prophecy : " Whatever you may think of the signs 
of the times, the government will rise from this 
strife greater, stronger, and more prosperous than 
ever. It will display energy and mflitary power." 

It was this courageous faith in the future, really 
sublime in its way, that filled at least a few North- 
ern hearts when the nation's life seemed most in 
jeopardy, and that brought about, in the end, the 
restoration of the Union. It was this same sublime 
courage that inspired the Southerners, no less Ameri- 
can than ourselves, to fight valiantly until they had 
1 Vide "The Sherman Letters," p. 109. 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 61 

hardly the clothes to shield their nakedness nor 
food to put in their starving bodies. 

Two days after the deliverance of this prophecy 
Fort Sumter surrendered — the great four years' 
struggle had begun. John Sherman wrote his 
brother at once : ' ' We are on the eve of a terrible 
war. Every man will have to choose his position. 
You, fortunately, have the military education, 
prominence, and character, that will enable you to 
play a high part in the tragedy. You can't avoid 
taking such a part. Neutrality and indifference 
are impossible. . . . The administration in- 
tends to stand or fall by the Union, the entire 
Union, and the enforcement of the laws. I look for 
preliminary defeats, for the rebels have arms, or- 
ganization, unity ; but this advantage will not last 
long." 

There was no need to urge William Tecumseh 
Sherman, once he saw any chance of real fighting. 
He only wanted the actual thing, — not a burial 
among the archives of a Washington department. 
He was soon writing to Simon Cameron, the new 
Secretary of War : 



" Dear Sir : I hold myself now, as always, pre- 
pared to serve my country in the capacity for which 
I was trained. I did not and will not volunteer for 
three months, because I cannot throw my family on 
the cold charity of the world. But for the three 
years' call, made by the President, an officer can 
prepare his command and do good service. 

"I will not volunteer as a soldier, because right- 



62 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

fully or wrongfully I feel uui illiug to take a mere 
private's place, and having for many years lived in 
California and Louisiana, the men are not well 
enough acquainted with me to elect me to my ap- 
propriate place. 

"Should my services be needed, the records of 
the War Department will enable you to designate 
the station in which I can render most service." 



Sherman showed his keen common sense in send- 
ing this letter to Cameron. For some of his best 
friends, not to mention several officials in Washing- 
ton, had begun to doubt his loyalty. He was a 
frank and voluble talker, when in the mood, never 
fearing to call a spade a spade ; and it is more than 
possible that his perpetual damning of the poli- 
ticians, whom he held responsible for the crisis of 
affairs, may have tended to make the more radical 
Northerners look upon him with distrust. Further- 
more, he had no inclination to think that a man was 
in danger of the eternal fires simply because he 
owned slaves — and we know that some pious people 
looked upon a slave-owner as on a moral par with 
Satan. We can easily imagine Sherman anath- 
ematizing an Abolitionist as a "mischievous fel- 
low," and having one of his hearers run away to 
spread the news that the speaker was "wobbling " 
in his allegiance. 

In this connection John Cannon wrote of Sherman 
several years later, at the close of the war, that l ' he 
was not reticent, like Grant, but could dispute or 
make speeches by the hour. His oratory was robust 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 63 

and forcible in the highest degree, and, when 
moved, the workings of his features attested the 
vehemence of his feelings. . . . His nature was 
so fervent, his manner at times so eccentric, that 
many persons set him down as insane. But his sol- 
diers did not think so. His daring courage was of 
itself sufficient to give him popularity among 
them." * 

It is Cannon, likewise, who gives us so graphic a 
picture of Sherman's personality that we may well 
quote it here. He was nearly six feet high, his 
frame muscular, though somewhat lean ; his consti- 
tution one of iron. His face was of ' ' the true North 
American type, showing the English descent, yet 
with every feature modified." His complexion was 
"blonde, though sufficiently weather-beaten; his 
hair light ; his eyes light blue, bright and quick, 
and gleaming very fiercely in his fits of anger. He 
was a great smoker, and in mentioning this fact 
some observers say that his was just the tempera- 
ment on which the use of tobacco has a bad effect — 
whence some of the excitement in his nature. He 
was by no means averse to spirituous refreshment 
either, but in that never to excess. He was, like 
Grant, careless of his personal attire ; wore a dingy 
uniform on campaign, and never buttoned up his 
tunic to the chin." His prominent forehead, it is 
added, was the feature that most impressed observ- 
ers. It might have been said, too, that this face, 

1 " Grant's Campaign for the Capture of Richmond " ; a most 
interesting narrative. 



64 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

beaming with intelligence, was undeniably harsh, 
or at least serious, in repose, but could soften won- 
derfully when in animated conversation with con- 
genial associates. Indeed, it was the face of a man 
who could wage war most relentlessly and who yet 
had, withal, a softer side to his nature, which was 
by no means impervious to what the writers of the 
eighteenth century floridly called " sentiment. " 

One biographer, Captain David P. Conyngham, 
speaks of Sherman's face as u sharp and angular," 
covered with a short, grizzly beard, of a sandy 
color. ' ' His eyes are piercing, with something of a 
harsh, cruel expression about them. His manner 
of speaking is rapid, and rather sarcastic." 

The general, as the writer of the present memoir 
recalls him, many years after the war, was an inter- 
esting, although by no means a handsome man, to 
gaze upon. His features, strongly marked and fur- 
rowed, proclaimed that their possessor had helped 
to make history ; his eyes were of the kind to kin- 
dle alternately with the varied lights of anger and 
pleasure ; his nose was pugnacious ; his mouth, its 
expression softened by age, must once have been 
terribly unyielding ; his manner was nervous but 
sincere ; and his whole bearing that of a man who 
thoroughly believed in himself and his opinions. 

Some men achieve success by diplomatic means, 
by pliancy to the views of those above them, and, 
in short, through infinite pains to find out which 
' ' way the wind blows. ' ' Others achieve the same re- 
sults through an indomitable energy of character 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 65 

that commands respect because of its utter indiffer- 
ence to consequences. The face of Sherman was the 
face of the latter class. He was bound to make an 
impress on the world in some form. Had he not 
succeeded he would surely have gone down into his- 
tory as a brilliant failure — a defiant, censorious, 
uncomfortable martyr to his honest egotism. 

So much for Sherman' s personal attr i butes. They 
had a sort of rugged charm of their own, and formed 
a correct barometer of the rugged soul within. 

Sherman's letter of explanation to Simon Cam- 
eron was written on May 8, 1861. This was a little 
more than three weeks after Lincoln, stirred into 
action by the bombardment and fall of Sumter, had 
issued his call for 75,000 volunteers with whom to 
put down the Rebellion. It will be noted that in 
his letter Sherman offers to enlist for three years — a 
proposition which many persons considered start- 
ling, not to say, absurd, at that time. It was now 
the fashion in certain quarters in the North, to 
think that, if the seceding states were coerced back 
into the Union, the process would take only a few 
months. But Sherman, once so hopeful of compro- 
mise, had made up his mind that the South, now 
very much in earnest, would fight to the bitter end 
for what she chose to call her freedom. He knew 
that the Southerners were a brave people. Were 
they not, when all was said, Americans, just as the 
inhabitants of Massachusetts, or New York, or 
Pennsylvania, were Americans ? He criticised, too, 
Lincoln's call because the "best of men could be 



66 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

made only indifferent soldiers in three months," 
and the best of soldiers conld accomplish nothing 
in three months in such a country as ours. 

The answer to the letter came indirectly but 
none the less surely. On the 14th of May Sher- 
man received a dispatch from Washington announc- 
ing his appointment as colonel of the Thirteenth 
Regular Infantry. It was high time for the new 
colonel to be off to action. St. Louis was in a tur- 
moil : the Southern sympathizers in Camp Jackson, 
in Lindell's Grove — the " state camp of instruction " 
before mentioned — were captured by United States 
troops ; there had been firing on the crowd of specta- 
tors, and some fatalities. 

Sherman, like Richard, was himself again. 
Once more in the regular army, he sniffed the 
battle from afar like a young warhorse ; he was 
ready for the fray, slavery or no slavery, politicians 
or no politicians. Whatever his opinions as to past 
issues might be, and however much he might have 
hoped for compromise, he was eager to fight for the 
continuance of the republic. The sentiment in the 
North was now crystallizing in favor of compelling 
the slave states to stay within the national union 
whether they would or not. The bombardment of 
Sumter by Beauregard had given a fatal blow to the 
old theory of allowing the ' ' erring sisters ' ? to de- 
part in peace. They must be brought once again 
under the paternal roof-tree, even if it were neces- 
sary to apply the lash. 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 67 

Sherman resigned his presidency of the Fifth 
Street Railway, instructed Mrs. Sherman to pack 
up and take her family to Lancaster, and hurried 
on himself to Washington, where he reported in 
person to General Scott. He there found "that the 
government was trying to rise to a level with the 
occasion. 77 He thought that Lincoln's plan to raise 
ten new regiments of regulars (one of which was 
the Thirteenth Infantry) and his call for 75,000 
volunteers, was totally " inadequate," but he re- 
marks, " Still, it was none of my business." In- 
stead of being allowed to recruit his new regiment, 
the colonel was detailed by Scott to remain in 
Washington for inspection duty (June 20th). 

At that time Winfield Scott, as the lieutenant- 
general of the army, was looked upon as the 
elderly but efficient Moses who was to lead the 
children of America out of the dangerous wilds of 
war into an epoch of peace and reunion. No one 
knew exactly how this was to be accomplished, 
for the officials in Washington were all more or less 
at sea, or at cross purposes as to methods, and only 
the Confederates seemed inspired with real confi- 
dence and enthusiasm. Regulars and militia were 
gatheriug in and about Washington, with General 
Mansfield commanding in the city, and Irwin 
McDowell in charge on the other side of the 
Potomac, with headquarters at Arlington. The 
militia was evidently composed of the right ma- 
terial, but it was pretty raw material thus far. 
"Their uniforms," as Sherman noticed, "were as 



68 WILLIAM TECUMSEII SHERMAN 

various as the states and cities from which they 
came ; their arms were also of every pattern and 
calibre ; and they were so loaded down with over- 
coats, haversacks, knapsacks, tents and baggage, 
that it took from twenty-five to fifty wagons to 
move the camp of a regiment from one place to 
another, and some of the camps had bakeries and 
cooking establishments that would have done 
credit toDelmonico." 

In Pennsylvania another force under General 
Eobert Patterson had been collected and moved 
forward to Williamsport, Maryland, on the Poto- 
mac Eiver. Colonel Sherman paid a visit to this 
army, where he talked with his old classmate, 
General George H. Thomas and other officers, who 
were of the opinion that the war would be short 
and decisive. And all the time the public was 
calling for speed in ending the conflict and giving 
vent to the cry — " On to Eichmond ! " J 

" While I was on duty with General Scott," says 
Sherman, "he frequently communicated to those 
about him his opinions and proposed plans. He 
seemed vexed with the clamor of the press for 
immediate action, and the continued interference in 
details by the President, Secretary of War and Con- 
gress. He spoke of organizing a grand army of 
invasion, of which the regulars were to constitute 
the ' iron column/ and seemed to intimate that he 

1 Richmond, Virginia, had now been made the capital of the 
Confederacy, and became, of conrse, the objective point of the 
principal military operations of the Union armies in the east. 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 69 

himself would take the field in person, although he 
was at the time very old, very heavy, and very 
unwieldy.' 7 

The public at this time was impressed with the 
idea that one great blow against the Confederate 
stronghold of Eichmond would end the war. Scott 
could not resist the pressure, and none the less so 
because the Confederates now had two armies in 
front of Washington : one at Manassas Junction, 
commanded by Beauregard, with its advance guard 
at Fairfax Court House ; and the other, under com- 
mand of General Joseph E. Johnston, at Win- 
chester. The lieutenant-general gave orders for 
a general advance against the enemy by the middle 
of July. General McDowell was to move from 
Washington and Patterson from Martinsburg. 
Colonel David Hunter was assigned to command 
the Second Division of McDowell's forces, and 
Sherman was ordered to take charge of Hunter's 
old brigade, consisting of five regiments, and form- 
ing part of the First Division, under General Daniel 
Tyler. 

In the meantime Congress assembled in special 
session (July 4th, 1861), and Lincoln sent it a 
lengthy message wherein he recommended that 
the means be given to make the approaching con- 
test " short and decisive." That is to say, he 
called for at least 400,000 men and an appropria- 
tion of four hundred millions of dollars. " And 
having thus chosen our course, without guile and 
with pure purpose," he concluded, "let us renew 



70 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

our trust in God, and go forward without fear and 
with manly hearts. " Mr. Lincoln was beginning, 
after his slow but steady way, to feel his path and 
measure up to the situation, even if he did look for 
a "short and decisive" contest. 

Sherman selected for his brigade in the field the 
Thirteenth New York Eegiment, the Sixty -ninth 
New York, the Seventy-ninth New York, and the 
Second Wisconsin. A battery of regular artillery 
was also attached to the brigade. The other regi- 
ment, the Twenty-ninth New York, was left be- 
hind to take charge of defenses and camps. The 
Sixty-ninth was an Irish regiment and immediately 
asserted the Celtic prerogative of "making trouble." 
The men had volunteered in New York early in 
April, for ninety days, but as they had come via 
Annapolis, owing to the disturbances in Baltimore, 
and had done guard duty on the railroad for several 
weeks before they reached Washington, it was about 
a month after their enrollment that they were mus- 
tered into the service. Some of the men asserted 
that they were entitled to their discharge in ninety 
days from the time of enrollment, instead of in 
ninety days from the time of the muster-in. 
Sherman submitted the question to the War De- 
partment, which promptly decided that the regi- 
ment would be held till the expiration of three 
months from the date of muster-in; i. e., until about 
the first of August. This supposedly settled the 
controversy. Corcoran, the colonel of the Sixty- 
ninth, and his officers generally, desired to go to 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 71 

war, Sherman tells us, but a good many of the men 
were not so anxious. There were not a few recruits 
at that time who enlisted for what they thought 
was to be a dress parade, and who were quite ready 
to go home when they found that war meant some- 
thing more than the waving of flags and the strident 
music of brass bands. 

Sherman was now in his element, and worked day 
and night to prepare his raw troops for the advance. 
There was surely enough work for every commander 
in trying to bring order out of the general chaos and 
confusion. The government of the United States 
was finding it a great task to handle or direct the 
forces which a loyal North was now sending in for 
its defense. One felt in those early days of the 
conflict that we were merely playing with war. 
Uniforms were more in evidence around Washing- 
ton than discipline ; there was more talk and bluster 
than action ; and everything that was done, or about 
to be done, was rushed into j>rint forthwith, so that 
the Confederates were able to keep thoroughly in- 
formed, in conjunction with the aid of their many 
friends in the capital, anent the plans for their sub- 
jugation. But the public, " drunk with hope," 
saw none of these things, or " saw them double ; and 
those who might have led the people ran after them. ' ' 

It might be said, in defense of the delusions of 
the hour (exactly as Colonel S. M. Bowman pointed 
out) that the Union army was numerically stronger 
than the Confederate forces, as well officered, better 
equipped, and as well instructed. But the Confed- 



72 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

erates had the advantage of being on the defensive. 
On the other hand, " onr troops would have to move 
to find the enemy, and to attack him in his chosen 
position, or sustain his fire delivered from behind 
cover or from behind earthworks. But the salient 
point of this question is, that the result of any move- 
ment, by either side, was left to chance ; no 
man could have indicated the causes which would 
determine the result. It was purely chance whether 
any movement ordered from headquarters would be 
made at all ; a rare chance whether it would be 
made at the time designated in orders ; a miraculous 
chance if it were made exactly as ordered. By 
waiting a very little while, the result might have 
been reasonably assured. We could not wait. In 
the American character Hope crowds Patience to 
the wall." x 

General McDowell began his advance on the 16th 
of July, with a force estimated at some 28,000 men. 
From this movement resulted the battle of Bull 
Eun, about thirty miles southwest from Washing- 
ton, where Beauregard and Johnston (the lat- 
ter had eluded General Patterson) won their first 
victory, and caused unpleasant surprise to cer- 
tain worthy persons in the North who had 
firmly believed that those " cowardly rebels " would 
never look a Union army in the face. Sherman, 
who there received his real baptism of fire, tells us, 

1 Bowman and IrwiD, " Sherman and His Campaigns. ' ' It must 
not be forgotten, too, that the public pressure was increased by 
the cries of some enterprising newspaper editors, each of whom 
had a certain plan for ending the war. 




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s 7\^ .Baltimore 
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'W^Ax,^ - /^ Manassas o 
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Marches and Campaigns 



THE COMING OF THE STOBM 73 

some years later, that this was one of the best- 
planned battles of the Civil War, but one of the 
worst-fought. The men were not yet nerved up to 
the frightful sights and sounds of war ; it was too 
much like bringing a lot of kindergartners, willing 
but inexperienced, into the fray. "We had good 
organization, good men, but no cohesion, no real 
discipline, no respect for authority, no real knowl- 
edge of war. Both armies were fairly defeated and, 
whichever had stood fast, the other would have run. 
Though the North was overwhelmed with mortifica- 
tion and shame, the South really had not much to 
boast of, for in the three or four hours of fighting 
their organization was so broken up that they did 
not and could not follow our army when it was 
known to be in a state of disgraceful and causeless 
flight." 

It may be true, theoretically, that "both armies 
were fairly defeated," but the fact remains that for 
all practical purposes the Confederates were the 
victors, and that the moral effect of the battle was 
prodigious. The South was naturally jubilant at 
the result, and doubtless became over-confident ; the 
North was shocked, shamed, dazed — and was taught 
a useful lesson. Henceforth there would be no 
vaporings about "cowardly rebels." 

As commander of his brigade, Sherman behaved 
throughout his first battle with a fine combination 
of gallantry and discretion, doing all that he per- 
sonally could, however useless, to stem the tide of 
flight. He seems to have handled his brigade in a 



74 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

masterly manner, as he put his regiments success- 
ively into action ; but at last his forces, after valiant 
advances against a storm of shot and shell, went to 
pieces. This was about half -past three o'clock in 
the afternoon. Up to that time all had kept their 
places, and seemed perfectly cool, but the exposure 
to an intense fire of small arms, at short range, 
finally produced disorder. ' ' Men fell away from 
their ranks, talking and in great confusion," offi- 
cially reported Sherman. Many of his officers were 
supposed to be dead or missing, and many wounded 
were being assisted to the rear. " We succeeded in 
partially reforming the regiments, but it was mani- 
fest that they would not stand, and I directed 
Colonel Corcoran [of the Sixty-ninth New York] to 
move along the ridge to the rear, near the position 
where we had first formed the brigade. General 
McDowell was there in person, and used all possi- 
ble efforts to reassure the men. By the active ex- 
ertions of Colonel Corcoran we formed an irregular 
square against the cavalry which were then seen to 
issue from the position from which we had been 
driven, and we began our retreat toward the same 
ford of Bull Eun by which we had approached the 
field of battle." On reaching Centreville Sherman 
found McDowell, who then hoped to rally the army 
and make a final stand. " But about nine o'clock 
at night I received from General Tyler, in person, 
the order to continue the retreat to the Potomac. 
This retreat was by night, and disorderly in the ex- 
treme. The men of different regiments mingled to- 



THE COMING OF THE STOKM 75 

gether, and some reached the river at Arlington, 
some at Long Bridge, and the greater part returned 
to their former camp, at or near Fort Corcoran. I 
reached this point at noon the next day, and found 
a miscellaneous crowd crossing over the aqueduct 
and ferries. Conceiving this to be demoralizing I 
at once commanded the guard to be increased, and 
all persons attempting to pass over to be stopped. 
. . . Comparative order was restored, and all 
were posted to the best advantage. 77 

It was gloomy and drizzling when Sherman 
reached Fort Corcoran, but the day was no gloomier 
than the military outlook. Every one seemed to be 
demoralized ; the nation, or the northern part of it, 
had gone into sudden mourning. But there was a 
quick reaction, as the people girded their loins anew 
for better results. It was now understood, as General 
Force truly says, that " men who would carry on 
war must learn the business of war, as a man must 
learn any business if he would succeed in it." 

Sherman worked hard to bring his brigade into 
form, and with good results. The Sixty-ninth 
(Irish) Begiment, however, was rather tired of the 
war ; some of the men were very anxious to see 
their homes again. One morning after reveille one 
of its officers remarked nonchalantly to Sherman : 
" Colonel, I'm going to New York to-day ; what 
can I do for you? " 

"How can you go to New York?' 7 demanded 
Sherman. "I don't remember to have signed a 
leave for you ! " 



76 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

The officer explained that he did not need a leave 
of absence. He had engaged to serve his country 
for three months only, he said, and had already ex- 
ceeded that time. He was a lawyer : he had neg- 
lected his business long enough, and proposed to go 
home. Some of the soldiers of his regiment listened 
eagerly as he spoke. Sherman saw that now was 
the time for discipline, very much needed. So he 
replied sharply : " Captain, this question of your 
term of service has been submitted to the rightful 
authority, and the decision has been published in 
orders. You're a soldier, and must submit to or- 
ders until you are properly discharged. If you 
attempt to leave without orders it will be mutiny, 
and I will shoot you like a dog ! Go back into the 
fort now , instantly, and don't dare to leave without 
my consent !" 

Sherman had on his overcoat, and may, as he 
naively admits, "have had his hand about the 
breast." Be that as it may, the captain, after a 
brief pause, walked back sullenly into the fort. 

This incident had a sequel that proved character- 
istic of the peculiar humor and shrewdness of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. The very same day Colonel Sherman 
(he was still a colonel in the regular service al- 
though commanding a brigade of volunteers) met 
the President and Mr. Seward, driving in an open 
hack toward Fort Corcoran. He eagerly inquired 
if they were on their way to his camps. " Yes," 
replied Lincoln ; " we heard that you had got over 
the big scare, and we thought we would come over 



THE COMING OF THE STORM 77 

and see the boys." By invitation of the President, 
Sherman jumped into the hack, and the party was 
driven into camp. On their way Lincoln hinted 
that he would like to speak to the soldiers of the 
brigade, to cheer them up and inspire them with 
confidence. Whereupon Sherman, with good, hard, 
unemotional sense, suggested that Lincoln should 
discourage all cheering or hysterical noise of any 
kind. u We had enough of that before Bull Run 
to ruin any set of men," he explained in effect, 
"and what we need now are cool, thoughtful, hard- 
fighting soldiers — no more hurrahing ; no more 
humbug." 

Lincoln took the advice in the best of heart, and 
was evidently pleased at the practical qualities of 
the colonel. In fine, they got along much better 
than at their meeting in the White House, when 
the President had announced his intention "to 
keep house." ' When he reached the first camp 
of the brigade, Lincoln made an admirable ad- 
dress to the men, full of hope, and well seasoned, no 
doubt, with those moral platitudes which he knew 
so well how to deliver as if they were not platitudes. 
Once, when the men began to cheer, he promptly 
checked them with the quizzical warning : " Don't 



1 Sherman was one of the very few generals who seldom 
grieved Lincoln. . . . He had learned to cherish the most 
profound respect for Lincoln. . . . There is no doubt that 
Lincoln's earliest impressions of Sherman were quite as un- 
favorable to Sherman as were Sherman's early impressions of 
Lincoln. — Alexander K. McClure, in "Lincoln and Men of 
War Times." 



78 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

cheer, boys. I confess I rather like it myself, but 
Colonel Sherman here says it's not military, and I 
guess we had better defer to his opinion." 

Thus they passed through all the camps of the 
brigade, the cleanliness of which drew forth many 
compliments from Mr. Lincoln, who admitted that 
this was the first bright moment he had experienced 
since he had heard the mortifying news from Bull 
Kun. At length, when they reached the men of the 
Sixty -ninth Regiment, the mutinous captain forced 
his way through the crowd to Lincoln's carriage 
(wherein was Sherman, on the front seat) and said : 

"Mr. President, I have a cause of grievance. 
This morning I went to speak to Colonel Sherman, 
and he threatened to shoot me ! " 

"He threatened to shoot you, did you say?" 
echoed Mr. Lincoln, who was standing up in the 
hack, facing the soldiers. He had told all the men 
not to hesitate to appeal to him personally in case 
they felt themselves aggrieved. Here was the cap- 
tain's opportunity. 

"Yes, sir, Colonel Sherman threatened to shoot 
me," he reiterated. 

The President stooped his gaunt form toward the 
officer, as he said, in a loud stage whisper : "Well, 
if I were you, and he threatened to shoot, I would 
not trust him, for I believe he would do it." 

The soldiers laughed, and the captain, unable to 
stand the ridicule, disappeared from the crowd, as 
he does from history. 

After the carriage had been driven on, and Sher- 



THE COMING OF THE STOEM 79 

man had explained the nature of the grievance, 
Lincoln said : " Of course I didn't know anything 
about it, but I thought you knew your own busi- 
ness best." 

Lincoln's answer to the captain had an immediate 
effect in restoring order. The mere narration of 
this episode serves to show more clearly than a 
hundred chapters, how much the raw army stood 
in need of discipline in those early days of the 
struggle, when soldiers were too prone to think 
that, as members of a great democracy, they were 
"as good as," if not better than, their superior 
officers. 

But now that illusions were over — now that others 
saw, as did Sherman, that u hurrahing" and 
' 'spread-eagleism" should be replaced by solid, 
hard work on the part of both soldiers and govern- 
ment, — things underwent a marvelous change. 
George Brinton McOlellan, who had made a reputa- 
tion for himself in western Virginia, was summoned 
to Washington, and organized the Army of the 
Potomac in masterly fashion. In organization was 
his strength ; only as an aggressor was he lacking. 
Troops began to pour in from all quarters ; the pa- 
pers were full of the wonderful executive ability of 
the " young Napoleon." 

In the meantime Sherman was appointed a briga- 
dier-general of volunteers (August, 1861), and or- 
dered to the new Department of the Cumberland, 
embracing Kentucky, Tennessee, etc., as second in 
command to Brigadier-General Eobert Anderson. 



80 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Sherman was glad of the assignment, and none the 
less so because he did not wish to be placed at the 
head of an army. He was more modest than some 
of the commanders. When he mentioned to Lin- 
coln his desire to serve under another general, the 
President said "yes" with alacrity. His chief 
trouble, observed Lincoln with a twinkle in his in- 
scrutable eyes, was to find places for "the too many 
generals who wanted to be at the head of affairs." 

The new brigadier-general soon found that his 
responsibilities were greater than he had expected. 
Hardly had he reached Kentucky, to confront the 
peculiar military and political situation in that state 
— he found " the young men were generally inclined 
to the cause of the South," while the older men of 
property desired to be neutral — than General An- 
derson relinquished his command, owing to broken 
health (October 8th). " I must go away, or it will 
kill me," said Anderson, pathetically. General 
Sherman himself was now forced to assume the 
leadership. He found the position a thankless one. 
Indeed, he was soon to be heralded throughout the 
North as a mad man — simply because he had more 
sanity than some of the civil authorities in Washing- 
ton. He would be classed in many of the newspa- 
pers as mentally unbalanced ; more than one official 
would consider him a mental and physical wreck ; 
the Assistant Secretary of War, Colonel Thomas A. 
Scott, would say to Colonel McClure, "Sherman's 
gone in the head ! ' ' Truth is not always welcome ; 
the teller of it is occasionally doomed to martyrdom. 



OHAPTEE IV 

AT WAR IN EARNEST 

The situation in Kentucky was a peculiarly try- 
ing one, from a military standpoint, owing to the 
mixed political conditions which hemmed in the 
commander of the Department of the Cumberland. 
Sherman was glad to hear that Brigadier-Geueral 
Buell would soon arrive from California to relieve 
him. While he was waiting, trying as best he could 
to cope with impossibilities, Secretary of War Cam- 
eron, who had in his train several war correspond- 
ents, honored him with a visit at Louisville. On 
inquiring as to the condition of affairs in the De- 
partment, Cameron was surprised at Sherman's an- 
swer that they were "as bad as bad could be." 
Later, when the party were at the Gait House, the 
secretary said : "Now, General Sherman, tell us of 
your troubles." 

The general looked suspiciously at the corre- 
spondents. ' ' They are all friends, ' ' explained Cam- 
eron ; "you may speak freely." Thereupon Sher- 
man poured forth his woes, complaining, among 
other things, of the insufficient number of troops 
allowed him, and the scarcity of arms. He be- 
lieved that there was throughout the state a large 
number of Union men of the more substantial kind, 



82 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

who, overawed by the Confederates and beyond 
the reach of the Federal forces, were therefore 
obliged to remain neutral. At his lowest computa- 
tion there were then 35,000 organized insurgent sol- 
diers in Kentucky, who contemplated a grand ad- 
vance toward the Ohio Eiver. To expel the enemy 
from the state, he went on, he needed at least 60,000 
men, instead of the much smaller number — say, 
15,000 to 18,000— allotted to him. Sherman added 
that to carry the whole war to the Gulf of Mexico, 
and crush all opposition to the Union in the entire 
Mississippi Valley, at least 200,000 troops would be 
requisite for the use of the government. 

Simon Cameron asked, not without irritation : 
"Where do you suppose, General Sherman, all this 
force is to come from ? " ' 

Sherman replied that he did not know ; that it 
was not his duty to raise and place the necessary 
military force in the field ; that such a duty apper- 
tained to the War Department. There is a tradi- 
tion, characteristic enough if true, that he also 
bluntly said to the secretary : ' ' You can at least 
stop playing politics, and let the young men who 
want to come forward and enlist, keep coming. 
Instead of that the politicians at Washington are 
discouraging them, and trying to make the country 
believe that this war is going to blow over in a lit- 
tle while !" 

Cameron promised to do what he could to relieve 

1 See the report of the interview, written August 24, 1866, by 
General Thomas J. Wood, who was present. 



AT WAE IN EARNEST 83 

Sherman's embarrassment, but it is evident that he, 
like many others, failed to realize the gravity of 
the general situation. And now Sherman, who had 
underestimated rather than exaggerated that situa- 
tion, was to be rewarded for his candor by being 
declared "insane" — a " visionary lunatic" — a 
" military imbecile." The interview at the Gait 
House became public property, and the newspapers, 
or some of them at least, were soon jeering at the 
general. It was said that he had asked for 200,000 
men for service in Kentucky ; that he was suffering 
from nervous fear and took a frightened view of 
things ; that he had made the most absurd demands 
upon the secretary of war. And the secretary, so 
said Dame Rumor, looked upon Sherman as an 
officer whose mind had become unbalanced through 
great responsibilities and poor health. So the story 
went, increasing in sensationalism as it progressed, 
while it proved a toothsome morsel for the kind 
public, which is not averse, usually, to reading dis- 
agreeable things — of others. 

About the middle of November Sherman was re- 
lieved of his command by Buell, as he had expected, 
and was transferred for duty to the Department 
of the Missouri. A few days later he was sent to 
Sedalia, to inspect the camp there. After he had 
concluded his work and given certain instructions 
as to the disposition of troops, he was ordered back 
to St. Louis, where he made his report to Major- 
General Halleck, then commanding the Department 
of the Missouri. 



84 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

The public interpreted the arrival of Buell, and 
Sherman's recall from Sedalia, as a sign that the 
latter had lost the confidence of the authorities, and 
was looked upon as u dangerous." The clamor 
against him was kept up with such vigor that he 
went home to Lancaster on a twenty days' leave of 
absence, that time might be allowed for the storm 
to blow over. 

One can imagine the feelings of Sherman when, 
early in December, during his Lancaster furlough, 
he read the following editorial in the Cincinnati 
Commercial : 

1 1 The painful intelligence reaches us in such form 
that we are not at liberty to discredit it, that Gen- 
eral W. T. Sherman, late commander of the Depart- 
ment of the Cumberland, is insane ! It appears that 
he was at times, when commanding in Kentucky, 
stark mad. We learn that he at one time tele- 
graphed to the War Department three times in one 
day for permission to evacuate Kentucky and retreat 
into Indiana. He also, on several occasions, 
frightened the leading Union men of Louisville al- 
most out of their wits by the most astounding rep- 
resentations of the overwhelming force of Buckner, 
and the assertion that Louisville could not be 
defended." 

It should be remembered that General Buckner 
(who was destined, as a sign of national reunion, to 
be one of the pallbearers at General Grant's 
funeral) had been making things very unpleasant 
for Kentucky " loyalists." 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 85 

The editorial continued: "When relieved from 
the command in Kentucky he [Sherman] was sent 
to Missouri, and placed at the head of a brigade at 
Sedalia, where the shocking fact that he was a mad 
man was developed by orders that his subordinates 
knew to be preposterous and refused to obey. He 
has, of course, been relieved altogether from com- 
mand. The harsh criticisms which have been lav- 
ished upon this gentleman, provoked by his strange 
conduct, will now give way to feelings of the deep- 
est sympathy for him in his great calamity. It 
seems providential that the country has not to 
mourn the loss of an army through the loss of the 
mind of a general into whose hands were committed 
the vast responsibilities of the command in Ken- 
tucky." 

Sherman threw down the paper in disgust. 
"Well, now, I shouldn't be surprised if they would 
fasten that on me," he cried. "It's the hardest 
thing in the world for a man to prove himself sane, 
especially when many people think his ideas wild ! " 
He at once wrote a letter to General Halleck 
wherein he complained of the Commercial's attack, 
and explained that he had imprisoned a reporter 
of this very paper in Louisville for visiting certain 
camps without his leave, and, indeed, against the 
general' s positive orders. ' ' These newspapers have 
us in their power," he added, "and can destroy us 
as they please, and this one can destroy my useful- 
ness by depriving me of the confidence of officers 
and men." 



86 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

It may be noted, in passing, that this experience 
with the Commercial did not tend to make Sherman 
any more cordial toward war correspondents — a 
class of men, for whom, with some exceptions, he 
manifested a mixture of hatred and contempt. He 
believed that in their zeal for their respective jour- 
nals, they were too ready to give to the public mili- 
tary information which proved useful news for the 
enemy. There is no doubt that war requires the 
most rigorous sort of telegraphic and postal censor- 
ship, no matter what truthful platitudes may be 
uttered as to the " freedom of the press." 

Halleck did what he could to soothe the wounded 
feelings of Sherman and his relatives ; but there is 
no doubt that for a time he had lost confidence in 
the judgment of his angry subordinate. For he had 
written to General McClellan just before the publi- 
cation of the article in the Commercial, that General 
Sherman's movement of troops around Sedalia 
(where he was authorized to assume command in 
case of possible danger of attack) had not been satis- 
factory, "lam satisfied," Halleck went on, "that 
General Sherman's physical and mental system is so 
completely broken by labor and care as to render 
him for the present entirely unfit for duty. Per- 
haps a few weeks' rest may restore him. I am satis- 
fied that in his present condition it would be dan- 
gerous to give him a command here." 

It is certain that Sherman, for a time, was looked 
upon askance by the military Solons and by the 
foolish optimists at Washington. His nervousness 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 87 

of manner, which may then have amounted to 
irascibility, probably increased the impression that 
he was suffering from hallucination due to over- 
work. A physician of to-day would have advised 
a hospital and the "rest cure." Time, however, 
avenged him nobly. At no distant day Sherman 
would live down these calumnies, and by his bril- 
liant conduct be restored to public favor. As 
Colonel McClure observes, he was the only military 
man of that particular period of the war who 
thoroughly and accurately appreciated the situ- 
ation in the southwest, and his estimate of the 
requisite forces was proved to be substantially cor- 
rect. "Buell, who succeeded Sherman in com- 
mand, had nearly 60,000 men when he was ordered 
to Grant at Shiloh, and fully 200,000 men were 
reapers in the harvest of death before the re- 
bellion was conquered in the southwest and the 
Father of Waters again went 'unvexed to the 
sea. 7 " 

On returning from his leave of absence Sherman 
found that Halleck was beginning to move his 
troops. One part, under General Grant, was 
ordered up the Tennessee River ; another part, 
under Curtis, in the direction of Springfield, 
Missouri. Sherman was now assigned to Curtis 7 s 
place in command of the camp of instruction at 
Benton Barracks, back of North St. Louis (De- 
cember 23d). To understand his future move- 
ments we must see what was happening in the 
west. 



88 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

In January, 1862, the Union armies everywhere 
numbered over 600,000 men, backed by a fleet, at 
various points, of more than 200 vessels. McClellan 
had been resting all winter on the Potomac, organiz- 
ing his great army. In his front was General 
Joseph E. Johnston, disciplining his own soldiers 
and preparing for the spring campaigns. In the 
west affairs were being conducted on a more ac- 
tive scale. General Halleck had a command of su- 
preme importance, which embraced two distinct 
fields of military operations, extending from the line 
of the Cumberland Eiver westward toward Kansas, 
and divided by the Mississippi Biver. Of these the 
most important was that east of the Mississippi. 
The Confederates held Columbus, on that river ; 
Fort Henry, on the Tennessee ; Fort Donelson, on 
the Cumberland ; and Bowling Green, in the De- 
partment of the Cumberland — positions which gave 
the key-note to the control of western and central 
Kentucky. It was Halleck' s duty to penetrate the 
Confederate line of defense. This was to be done 
by breaking its centre, or, in other words, by a 
movement up the Tennessee Eiver. This move- 
ment resulted in General Grant's capture of Fort 
Henry (February 6, 1862). 1 

Just a week later Sherman was ordered to Padu- 
cah, Kentucky, to look after the work of forward- 
ing supplies and men to General Grant. The latter 
marched across to Fort Donelson, on the Cumber - 

1 See Dodge's "Bird's Eye View of Our Civil War," and 
Bowman and Irwin's "Sherman and His Campaigns." 



AT WAE IN EAKNEST 89 

land, a distance of ten miles, and with the assist- 
ance of the naval flotilla, captured its garrison of 
12,000 men under Buckner (February 16th). It was 
here that Grant sent his celebrated message to 
Buckner, "I propose to move immediately upon 
your works." The North now resounded with the 
name of Ulysses S. Grant. Poor Sherman, faith- 
fully attending to routine work, was lost to sight in 
the rush of events. The newspapers even forgot to 
serve up the usual breakfast fare for their readers ; 
the legend, " Sherman is insane" — or " Sherman's 
health is hopelessly broken" — disappeared from 
print. It looked, for the matter of that, as if our 
general would go through the war in a subordinate 
capacity, with mild honor but sans fame. Some 
men might have resigned from the army in disgust. 
But Sherman was like Benjamin Franklin, who 
once said that he was not possessed of the virtue of 
resignation. 

It was in the bitterly contested battle of Shiloh 
or Pittsburg Landing (April 6th and 7th) that 
he emerged from the cloud of public censure, and 
showed the fine material that was in him. From 
that moment he began to see life in more roseate 
lights. 

The two brilliant victories of Grant at Forts Henry 
and Donelson, had ruined, as they were intended 
to do, the centre of the Confederate line ; General 
Albert Sidney Johnston, who was in supreme com- 
mand of the enemy here, and who was looked upon 
as the fondest hope of the South on the military 



90 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

field, was obliged to retire to a new line along the 
Memphis and Charleston Eailroad. Having suc- 
cessively evacuated Columbus and Nashville, and 
practically abandoned Kentucky, he determined to 
concentrate his army around Corinth, Miss., a 
distance of twenty miles from the now historic 
Pittsburg Landing. 

Grant proposed to ascend the Tennessee Eiver, 
and try to break this new line along the Memphis 
and Charleston Eailroad, of which Corinth, of course, 
formed the centre. He took his army to Pittsburg 
Landing, on the Tennessee Eiver, and by orders 
from Halleck, Buell, with 37,000 men, was dis- 
patched from Nashville, to re-enforce him. Hal- 
leck was now (March 11th) made commander of 
the Department of the Mississippi, embracing all 
the troops west of a line drawn indefinitely north 
and south through Knoxville, Tennessee, and east 
of the western boundary of Missouri and Arkansas. 
General Mitchell was sent out with a division to 
seize some point of vantage on the Memphis and 
Charleston Eailroad, which had great value to the 
enemy ; he succeeded in capturing Huntsville and 
occupied Bridgeport. 

In the meantime Johnston advanced from Cor- 
inth, in order to fall upon Grant's army (comprising 
nearly 40,000 fighting men) before Buell should ar- 
rive with the re-enforcements. Johnston made his 
onslaught on the Union forces, as planned, and for 
a time victory seemed to perch on the banners of 
the Secessionists. The Union lines wavered ; the 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 91 

surprise had proved demoralizing. For a while 
apparently there was no hope for Grant's startled 
soldiers. Then comes the death of the gallant Al- 
bert Sidney Johnston. Beauregard, succeeding to 
the command, and thinking that Buell is still a 
goodly distance away, calls a halt on the battle until 
the following morning, when he hopes to have his 
troops reformed for victory. But Buell is at hand ; 
his forces, or at least 20,000 of them, come up in 
time for the second day' s battle. Beauregard makes 
a desperately heroic struggle to retain his advantage 
of the day before, and by skilful management he al- 
most succeeds in turning the Union left. "But 
Buell' s men have profited by their rigid discipline. 
Their ranks are adamant. They will not be denied. 
An order for a general advance is given. Wallace 
comes up on the right. Victory shifts to the stars 
and stripes. The exhausted Confederates are forced 
in confusion from the field." 

The fight was one of the fiercest of the war. 
Beauregard reported his entire loss as 10,699 ; the 
Union losses, according to one estimate, aggregated 
1,700 killed, 7,495 wounded, and 3,022 prisoners. 
The struggle had been so severe that for a time 
the victors were worn out and nerveless. "All 
the division, brigade and regimental commanders, 
were busy," says Sherman, " in collecting stragglers, 
regaining lost property, in burying dead men and 
horses, and in providing for their wounded." 

How came Sherman himself into the battle, and 
what did he accomplish'? While at work at Pa- 



92 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

ducah he organized a division of his own ont of 
the troops arriving there, as General Halleck, who 
now considered that his " health" was " restored," 
had promised the ex- " lunatic " that he might take 
the field to assist in the coming movements. ' On 
the 10th of March Sherman embarked this new 
division on the Tennessee Eiver, and, after certain 
manoeuvring, we find him stationed just back of 
Pittsburg Landing. This was in accordance with 
the plan to attack the enemy at Corinth, when the 
necessary forces had arrived, and secure his surren- 
der. Here, finally, the Army of the Tennessee, 
under Grant, waited patiently for the arrival of 
Buell, who was marching to the rescue with calm 
but provoking deliberation. " The importance of 
the crisis was apparent," says Colonel S. M. Bow- 
man, "for Johnston would naturally seek to strike 
Grant before BuelPs arrival, but Buell marched his 
troops with the same deliberation as if no other 
army depended upon his promptness." But, to 
give the other side of the picture — and there were 
often two sides to these stirring war landscapes — 
Dr. Eopes says, in his "Story of the Civil War," 
that as Halleck had never intimated that he had 
any doubt as to Grant's safety, "Buell pursued his 
march with primary regard to the comfort and 
efficiency of his soldiers. The truth is, that the 
object of BuelPs march, as it was understood both 
by him and by Halleck, was, — to use BuelPs own 

1 See the letter which Halleck wrote Thomas Ewing on Febru- 
ary 15, 1862, in regard to Sherman's condition. 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 93 

words, which are very just, — ' not to succor General 
Grant's army, but to form a junction with it for an 
ulterior offensive campaign.' " 

Be that as it may — and the battle of Shiloh will 
ever cause controversy — Albert Sidney Johnston 
made his descent before the arrival of the re- 
enforcements. "On Sunday morning, the 6th, 
early," reports Sherman, " there was a good deal 
of picket-firing, and I got breakfast, rode out along 
my lines, and, about four hundred yards to the 
front of Appier's regiment (Fifty-third Ohio), re- 
ceived from some bushes in a ravine to the left 
front a volley which killed my orderly, Holliday. 
About the same time I saw the rebel lines of battle 
in front coming down on us as far as the eye could 
reach. All my troops were in line of battle, ready, 
and the ground was favorable to us. I gave the 
necessary orders to the battery (Waterhouse's) at- 
tached to Hildebrand's brigade, and cautioned the 
men to reserve their fire till the rebels had crossed 
the ravine of Owl Creek, and had begun the ascent ; 
also, sent staff officers to notify Generals McCler- 
nand and Prentiss of the coming blow. Indeed, 
McClernand had already sent three regiments to 
the support of my left flank, and they were in posi- 
tion when the onset came. In a few minutes the 
battle of Shiloh began with extreme fury and lasted 
two days." 

The battle took its name from Shiloh Church, 
near Pittsburg Landing. Pittsburg itself was a 
mere steamboat landing, situated in a deep ravine, 



94 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

down which the Corinth road led to the Tennessee 
River. The ground in front of the Landing was an 
undulating table- land, a hundred feet above the 
road-bottom, lying between Lick Creek and Snake 
Creek, two little tributaries of the Tennessee ; Owl 
Creek, rising near the source of Lick Creek and 
flowing in a northeasterly direction, emptied into 
Snake Creek. The Confederates had formed under 
cover of the brush lining Owl Creek bottom ; after 
opening fire from their artillery, they were soon 
moving forward the infantry across the open ground 
and up a slope which separated them from the lines 
of the Union Army. 1 

Sherman saw that the enemy designed to pass his 
left flank, and fall upon Generals McClernand and 
Prentiss, whose camps were two miles back from 
the Tennessee Eiver. Very soon the sharp, crack- 
ling sound of musketry and the booming of artillery 
announced that Prentiss was engaged, and later 
Sherman inferred that he was falling back. Eegi- 
ments now began to break in disorder ; the enemy 
pressed on madly ; it looked, for a time, as if Shiloh 
was to end in a Union panic. Through all the 
danger of the day, through all the fierce noise and 
confusion, Sherman retained his coolness, inspiring 
all around him, and giving the lie, then and there, 
to the critics who had called him a faint-hearted 
fool. After ten o'clock the Confederates made a 
furious attack on General McClernand' s front. 
"Finding him pressed," writes Sherman, in his 
1 " Sherman and His Campaigns." 



AT WAE IN EABNEST 95 

official report, "I moved McDowell's brigade di- 
rectly against the left flank of the enemy, forced 
him back some distance, and then directed the men 
to avail themselves of every cover — trees, fallen 
timber, and a wooded valley to our right. We held 
this position for four long hours, sometimes gaining 
and at others losing ground ; General McClernand 
and myself acting in perfect concert, and struggling 
to maintain this line." It was a terrific ordeal, 
through which these two generals remained as self- 
possessed as if they were playing a quiet game of 
chess. Later they selected a new line of defense, 
with its right covering a bridge over Snake Creek, 
by which General Lew Wallace was expected to 
approach with re-enforcements. As they fell back 
to this position the enemy's cavalry charged them, 
but was finely repulsed by an Illinois regiment. 
Later, McClernand' s division made a dashing 
charge against the enemy, "and drove him back 
into the ravines to our front and right," reports 
Sherman. "I had a clear field, about two hun- 
dred yards wide, in my immediate front, and con- 
tented myself with keeping the enemy's infantry 
at that distance during the rest of the day." 

There is no need to give in detail the story of 
Sherman's great service to the Union on that or the 
succeeding day at Shiloh. Throughout the whole 
action he displayed surprising judgment and skill 
in the management of his men, and although severely 
wounded in the left hand on the first day, and again 
wounded on the second day, besides having three 



96 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

horses shot from under him, he was never absent 
from his post. Considering how new he was to real 
warfare it may be truthfully said that he proved a 
marvel in the way he rallied faltering troops, in- 
spired the braver men, and coolly issued his orders 
amid the storm of iron. Grant, between whom and 
Sherman there would always exist the firmest 
friendship, afterward said of him : " At the battle 
of Shiloh, on the first day, he held, with raw troops, 
the key-point of the landing. It is no disparage- 
ment to any other officer to say that I do not be- 
lieve there was another division commander on the 
field who had the skill and experience to have done 
it. To his individual efforts I am indebted for the 
success of that battle. 7 7 General Halleck announced 
that Sherman, according to unanimous opinion, 
" saved the fortunes of the day," on April the 6th, 
and " contributed largely to the glorious victory " 
of the second day's battle. As a result he was pro- 
moted to a major-generalcy of volunteers (May 1, 
1862). 

Sherman was fortunate in emerging so bril- 
liantly from an action which was very harshly criti- 
cised in certain quarters. For it was maintained by 
some that the army at Pittsburg Landing had been 
not merely surprised, but surprised in the most 
disgraceful way ; and there were all sorts of wild 
rumors afloat, including one that General Grant had 
been drunk at the beginning of the battle. Sher- 
man says, as to the last assertion : l i Personally I 
saw General Grant, who with his staff visited me 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 97 

about 10 A. M., of the 6th, when we were desperately 
engaged." As to the " disgracefulness " of the sur- 
prise we find Sherman writing to his brother, the 
senator, in his graphic, vehement way : 

' ' The scoundrels who fled their ranks and left about 
half their number to do their work have succeeded 
in establishing their story of surprise, stuck with 
bayonets and swords in their tents, and all that 
stuff. They were surprised, astonished and dis- 
gusted at the utter want of respect for life on the 
part of the Confederates, whom they have been 
taught to regard as inferior to them, and were sur- 
prised to see them approach with banners fluttering, 
bayonets glistening, and lines dressed on the centre. 
It was a beautiful and dreadful sight, and I was 
prepared for and have freely overlooked the fact 
that many wilted and fled, but, gradually recover- 
ing, rejoined our ranks. But those who did not re- 
cover their astonishment had to cast about for a 
legitimate excuse ; and the cheapest one was to 
accuse their officers, and strange to say, this story 
is believed before ours, who fought two whole days. 

" In this instance the scamps will soon learn their 
mistake. Those who ran and cried * surprise,' 
' cut up,' etc., expected all who stood to their work 
to be killed, but all were not killed, and enough 
remain as witnesses, after the public are satisfied 
with the horrid stories of men butchered, etc. 
. . . For two days they hung about the river 
bank, filling the ears of newspaper reporters with 
their tales of horrid surprise." 



98 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

This is not a very gratifying description, but it is 
evidently a true one, and shows us, better than a 
dozen histories, that war is not all heroism, waving 
of flags and valor. It incidentally gives us an- 
other instance of why Sherman disliked newspaper 
correspondents, who did so much, in this case, to 
impress the public with the mistakes of Shiloh. 
One thing at least is certain : The battle will be the 
subject of spirited discussion so long as war histor- 
ians and the inevitable " military experts" shall 
endure. 

After the fight Beauregard returned to Corinth, 
unpursued by Grant, whose critics asserted that he 
should have used his tired men to chase the enemy. 
Halleck now arrived on the scene to take personal 
command of the armies under Grant, Buell and 
Pope. The last-named general was diverted from 
his success along the Mississippi Eiver, and brought 
over to assist in besieging Corinth. Halleck evi- 
dently shared the prejudices rampant just then 
against Grant, for in reorganizing the forces 
(wherein Sherman was assigned to an important 
division) he gave Grant the nominal position of 
" second in command." This assignment left 
him without any well-defined duties, and he nat- 
urally looked upon it as little less than a polished 
insult. And now it is that we see Sherman saving 
this great officer for future services to his govern- 
ment. 

During a visit to Halleck' s headquarters Sherman 
was informed that Grant had applied for, and re- 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 99 

ceived, a thirty-days' leave of absence, and proposed 
going away the next morning. Sherman knew 
that this probably meant a permanent withdrawal 
from the army, for he realized how Grant was chaf- 
ing under the slight which had been put upon him 
by Halleck. So, with the best intentions that man 
ever had, he galloped off to the camp of the dis- 
credited general. 

As he rode up, he found Major Rawlins and 
other members of Grant's staff surrounded by 
chests and articles which indicated a sort of mil- 
itary moving day. Sherman inquired for "the 
general," and was shown to his tent. Here he 
found Grant assorting letters and papers, and tying 
them up with red tape into little bundles. The 
visitor asked Grant if it were true that he was going 
away. 

" Yes," was the laconic answer. 

" What is the reason?" demanded Sherman. 

Grant replied — and we can fancy him taking the 
ever-present cigar from his mouth: " Sherman, 
you know. You know I am in the way here ! I 
have stood it as long as I can, and I can endure it 
no longer." 

"Where are you going to % " 

"To St. Louis." 

" Have you any business there?" 

"Not a bit!" 

Sherman, who had, as he confessed, received new 
life from the battle of Shiloh, and no longer fretted 
over the old allegations as to his " craziness," was 



100 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

now intent on bearing patiently the " slings and ar- 
rows" of misfortune. He argued that if Grant re- 
tired, events would go " right along," and he would 
be forgotten ; whereas, if he remained in the army 
'" some happy accident might restore him to favor 
and his true place." Grant took this advice in a 
friendly spirit, and promised to do nothing rash. 
Shortly thereafter he wrote Sherman that he had 
decided to remain with the army. In answering 
this note General Sherman said: "I . . . am 
rejoiced at your conclusion to remain ; for you could 
not be quiet at home for a week when armies were 
moving, and rest could not relieve your mind of the 
gnawing sensation that injustice had been done 
you." 

Thus it appears that in his interview Sherman 
wrought better than he then knew. Nothing 
speaks more eloquently in his behalf than this epi- 
sode. Some generals, more jealous than he, might 
have been only too glad to get rid of Grant as a 
dangerous rival. But through all the pettiness of 
the war — and Heaven knows that it was full of 
smallness, bickerings and false pride in certain di- 
rections — there stands out, in bold and delightful 
relief, the steadfast trust which Grant and Sherman, 
the two greatest military figures of the conflict, on 
the Northern side, maintained in each other. 

On the 30th of April the grand army under Hal- 
leck, estimated in round numbers at 120,000 men, 
began its movement against Corinth, where Beaure- 
gard, now re-enforced by General Van Dorn, had 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 101 

fortified himself for the coming ordeal. The ad- 
vance, as General Grant says, in his " Personal Mem- 
oirs, ' ' " was a siege from the start to the close. ' J The 
Union troops "were always behind intrenchments, 
except, of course, the small reconnoitring parties 
sent to the front to clear the way for an advance." 
Indeed, the army was thoroughly entrenched all the 
way from the Tennessee River to Corinth. About 
the 28th of May General Logan told Grant that he 
knew the Confederates were evacuating Corinth. 
It was said that loaded trains had been heard leav- 
ing the place. Logan was right ; the stronghold 
was being abandoned by the Confederates, who had 
manfully cheered every time an empty train reached 
there, in order to give the " Yankees" the impres- 
sion that re- enforcements were arriving. When the 
Union troops marched into the town they found 
neither active Confederates nor stores of any kind. 
The trophies of war comprised a few " Quaker 
guns," otherwise black logs pointed in a threaten- 
ing fashion toward the Northerners. 

Beauregard had wisely abandoned the place as 
untenable. The evacuation had great strategic 
value for the North ; the Confederates were now 
driven out of west Tennessee. Soon Fort Pillow 
was evacuated, and Memphis surrendered (June 6th) 
to the Union forces. The Mississippi River was 
open from its source to the latter point ; while 
the Federals also held New Orleans and Baton 
Rouge. The possession of the Mississippi from 
Memphis to Baton Rouge, with Vicksburg as the 



102 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

chief objective, now became a matter of the first im- 
portance. It was evident that the western armies 
had accomplished much more than had McClellan 
and the forces in the East. 

During the movement to Corinth Sherman acted 
with a dash and good sense that increased the rep- 
utation he had made at Shiloh. There was no 
chance for much brilliancy under the cautious ad- 
vauce of Halleck, who moved as an engineer rather 
than as a strategist. Yet Sherman gave more than 
one evidence of his energy and skill ; as, for in- 
stance, when his men gallantly carried two posi 
tions, one of which was two miles out from the main 
line of the enemy, on a commanding elevation, and 
defended by an entrenched battery with infantry 
supports. After numerous activities Sherman was 
ordered by Grant, who had been appointed to com- 
mand the Army of the Tennessee, to repair to 
Memphis and put it in a state of defense. Halleck 
had just been made commander of all the armies of 
the United States, with headquarters in Washing- 
ton. 

When Sherman arrived with his troops in Mem- 
phis (July 21st) he found the place "dead." All 
churches, schools and stores were closed ; the scene 
was one of dreariness, and the citizens, who were 
naturally in sympathy with the South, either kept 
sullenly indoors or moved about with resentful 
faces. It was one of those times when the con- 
queror did not receive the customary crown. The 
general caused all the closed places to be opened, 



AT WAE IN EARNEST 103 

restored the old city government to its public func- 
tions, brought an air of peaceful prosperity once 
more into the streets, fortified his position, drilled 
his division, watched the military situation in west- 
ern Tennessee, and sharply supervised the adminis- 
tration of civil affairs in the town. He acted as a 
shrewd soldier and a good business man, and realiz- 
ing that he was in the midst of a hostile population 
he wisely divested himself of any shreds of senti- 
ment. He was a man who never let the feeling 
which he undoubtedly possessed interfere with the 
stern, harsh duties of war ; he became such an 
adept in hiding his heart by a barrier of bayonets 
that a good many of our Southern brethren — some 
of whom still live — came to regard him as a won- 
derfully close imitation of the Emperor Nero. 

His ability as an administrator is well shown by 
a reference to his letter-book. His correspondence 
therein, which emphasizes his peculiar talents of 
expression, covers the widest range of subjects, 
from matters of supreme military importance to in- 
structions as to the pettiest details of municipal 
government. At one time he addresses a long let- 
ter to Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, pro- 
testing against the government's policy of allowing 
speculators to purchase cotton within the lines of 
the Confederacy. * ' If England ever threatens war, ' ' 
he says, ' i because we don' t furnish her cotton, tell her 
plainly if she can't employ and feed her own people, 
to send them here, where they can not only earn an 
honest living, but soon secure independence by 



104 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

moderate labor. We are not bound to furnish her 
cotton. " ' 

Again, Sherman writes to the editor of the Mem- 
phis Union- Appeal : u Personalities in a newspaper 
are wrong and criminal. Thus, though you meant 
to be complimentary in your sketch of my career, 
you make more than a dozen mistakes of fact, which 
I need not correct, as I don' t desire my biography 
to be written till I am dead. . . . Use your in- 
fluence to re-establish system, order, government. 
You may rest easy that no military commander is 
going to neglect internal safety, or to guard against 
external danger ; but to do right requires time, and 
more patience than I usually possess. If I find the 
press of Memphis actuated by high principle, and a 
sole devotion to their country, I will be their best 
friend ; but, if I find them personal, abusive, deal- 
ing in innuendoes, and hints, at a blind venture, 
and looking to their own selfish aggrandizement and 
fame, then they had better look out ; for I regard 
such persons as greater enemies to their country, 
and to mankind, than the men who, from a mis- 
taken sense of State pride, have taken up muskets, 
and fight us about as hard as we care about." 

Then we see General Sherman writing to Grant, 
under date of August 26th : "The newspapers are 
accusing me of cruelty to the sick — as base a charge 
as ever was made. I would not let the sanitary 

1 It was natural that in discussing this intricate cotton ques- 
tion General Sherman should regard it from the standpoint of 
the imperative military man, rather than from the more subtle 
view-point of the statesman. 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 105 

committee carry off a boat-load of sick because I 
have no right to. We have good hospitals here, 
and plenty of them. Our regimental hospitals are 
in the camps of the men, and the sick do much bet- 
ter there than in the general hospitals. So say my 
division surgeon and the regimental surgeons." 

In a letter to the editor of the Memphis Bulletin 
he says, in stating his willingness to follow up a rea- 
sonable complaint against the misbehavior of any of 
his soldiers : u In some instances where our soldiers 
are complained of they have been insulted by sneer- 
ing remarks about ' Yankees/ 'Northern barbar- 
ians,' 'Lincoln's hirelings,' etc. People who use 
such language must seek redress through some one 
else, for I will not tolerate insults to our country or 
cause. ... I will punish the soldiers for tres- 
pass or waste, if adjudged by a court-martial, be- 
cause they disobey orders ; but soldiers are men and 
citizens as well as soldiers, and should promptly 
resent any insult to their country, come from what 
quarter it may. . . . Insult to a soldier does 
not justify pillage, but it takes from the officer the 
disposition he would otherwise feel to follow up the 
inquiry and punish the wrong-doers." 

About the same time the general is writing, in a 
sarcastic vein, to John Sherman that ' ' the people 
are always right. Of course, in the long run, be- 
cause this year they are one thing, next year another. 
Do you say the people were right last year, in say- 
ing, acting and believing that 30,000 [men] were 
enough to hold Kentucky and carry on an offensive 



106 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

war against the South ? ' The people ' is a vague ex- 
pression. " 

These are not very spectacular glimpses of war, 
perhaps, but they show the trials that beset Sher- 
man, and the problems with which he grappled, 
when his way was not illumined by the glamour of a 
soldier on the field of battle. If they show him in 
some testiness of temper, it must yet be admitted 
that any general in the heart of a hostile people 
does not find life a bed of roses. If the imperturba- 
ble Lee had not been stopped at Gettysburg and had 
captured Philadelphia, he would doubtless have 
found the inhabitants of the " City of Brotherly 
Love " equally hard to bear with, and might have 
lost not a little of that philosophic calmness which 
suggests so closely the character of General Wash- 
ington. 

And in spite of his acerbity, and his hatred of the 
taunts of certain citizens of Memphis, Sherman 
could descend, or ascend, to a bit of courtesy toward 
the enemy that indicated the gentleman "to the 
manner born," rather than the uncompromising 
soldier. For instance, when Van Dorn, the Con- 
federate general, had his headquarters in Holly 
Springs, and tried, by means of spies, to secure sup- 
plies from Memphis, Sherman prevented him from 
obtaining things of any importance, but "con- 
nived," as he frankly states, at the Confederate's 
receiving, for his own personal use, cigars, liquors, 
boots and gloves. This was a courtesy that the lat- 
ter should have appreciated, and Sherman, who 



AT WAR IN EARNEST 107 

knew the value of good whiskey and fine cigars, 
would doubtless have expected equal consideration 
under similar circumstances. But when it came to 
smuggling through medicines and provisions for 
Van Dorn's camp, the Union general was again the 
stern soldier. 

Once one of his officers found in a barn, on a farm 
outside of Memphis, a handsome city hearse, gor- 
geously decorated with plumes. The farmer ex- 
plained that "they had had a big funeral out of 
Memphis," but investigation proved that the coffin 
in the hearse contained a fine assortment of medi- 
cines for the use of Yan Dorn's army. 

It need hardly be chronicled that the hearse got 
no farther toward the enemy. Sherman observes, 
with a twinkle in his eye no doubt, as he wrote, that 
thus, " under the pretense of a first-class funeral, 
they had carried through our guards the very things 
we had tried to prevent. It was a good trick, but 
diminished our respect for such pageants after- 
ward. ' 7 

But events are hastening, if a trifle slowly. 
Festina lente was the motto at this stage of the game 
of war. Let us follow Sherman on to Vicksburg. 



CHAPTEE V 

ON TO VICKSBURG 

The complete opening of the Mississippi, from 
source to mouth, had now become the ultima thule 
of the Union campaigns in the west. Shortly after 
the battle of Corinth (where the Confederates were 
severely repulsed, on October 3 and 4, 1862, they 
having recruited their strength for a struggle to re- 
take the place), General Grant proposed to Halleck 
a movement having for its end the capture of Vicks- 
burg. Vicksburg was of great importance to the 
enemy, in that it occupied, as Grant pointed out, 
the first high ground coming close to the river be- 
low Memphis. From Vicksburg, too, a railroad 
ran eastward, connecting with other roads leading 
into Southern territory ; while on the opposite side 
of the Mississippi was a second line which ran to 
Shreveport, Louisiana. At this particular time 
Vicksburg was the only channel connecting the 
parts of the Confederacy divided by the river. ' ' So 
long as it was held by the enemy the free navigation 
of the river was prevented. Hence its importance. ' 7 

Early in November Grant began this new cam- 
paign from Jackson, Tennessee, by a movement on 
Grand Junction, on the Mississippi Central Bail- 
road, which the Confederate general, Pemberton, 



ON TO VICKSBUEG 109 

then occupied. Grant's moving force comprised 
about 30,000 men ; he estimated that Pemberton 
had about the same number of effectives. McPher- 
son commanded Grant's left wing ; C. S. Hamilton 
had the centre ; while Sherman was still at Memphis 
with the right wing. The movement resulted in the 
capture of Grand Junction and La Grange (Novem- 
ber 8th). A few days later Grant's cavalry was in 
Holly Springs, and Pemberton fell back south of 
the Tallahatchie Eiver. Thereupon Grant sent 
Sherman the following laconic despatch : 

" Meet me at Columbus, Kentucky, on Thursday 
next. If you have a good map of the country south 
of you take it up with you." 

When the meeting took place, Sherman was or- 
dered to join Grant with two divisions, and, if pos- 
sible, march them down the Mississippi Central 
Eailroad. It was not long before Sherman had ex- 
ecuted this order with a promptness that won praise 
from his superior, but in the meantime the plan of 
campaign against Vicksburg was changed. Sher- 
man was ordered to take charge of the new expedi- 
tion, with the co-operation of a gunboat flotilla un- 
der the command of Admiral Porter. Grant ex- 
plained that Sherman, with a force of nearly 
40,000 men, was to transport the troops by boat 
down the Mississippi, and try to capture Vicks- 
burg from the rear by making a landing up the 
Yazoo Eiver, which empties into the Mississippi a 
few miles above the city. The garrison at Vicks- 
burg was then small ; and Grant hoped so to han- 



110 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

die his troops that he might keep Pemberton away 
from there. 

A large fleet of steamboats, protected by Ad 
miral Porter's gunboats, was soon bearing Sher- 
man's army down the Mississippi Eiver, making a 
magnificent sight. "Some few guerrilla parties 
infested the banks, but did not dare to molest so 
strong a force." 

It is plain that Sherman's heart beat high as he 
surveyed the fleet steaming down the river ; he al- 
ready saw Vicksburg within his grasp. But the 
best-laid plans of generals sometimes have a way 
of going awry, owing to the contemptuous refusal 
of the enemy to do the things expected of them. 
Pemberton managed to get into Vicksburg before 
Sherman arrived on the scene. And this is the way 
it happened. While Grant pushed forward to help 
in the movement the two Confederate generals, Van 
Dorn and Forrest, joined in an operation against 
his line of communications. Van Dorn captured 
Holly Springs (December 20th) with its valuable 
stores of food and munitions of war, while several 
important bridges in Grant's rear were destroyed 
about the same time. The colonel who surrendered 
the post was dismissed the service, but his disgrace 
could not change the situation. The loss of Holly 
Springs was a sad blow to Grant, whose base of sup- 
plies had thus been cut off. In order to re-establish 
his base he was obliged to fallback, and Pemberton 
was enabled to retire gracefully into Vicksburg. 

Meanwhile Sherman, who was not overtaken with 



ON TO VICKSBTJBG 111 

the news of Grant's disaster, reached the mouth of 
the Yazoo the day after Christmas. He ascended 
the river to a point below Haines Bluff, some two 
hundred feet high, landed his men, and made an 
assault upon the enemy's strongly fortified position 
at that place (December 29th). He hoped thus to 
reach the rear of Vicksburg, cut the railroad, and 
isolate Pemberton, whom he fondly supposed was 
having trouble with Grant. He had no means of 
knowing that Pemberton was then in the city, 
coolly watching his every operation. The Union 
general was repulsed, after a gallant attack, with a 
loss of 175 killed, 930 wounded and over 700 miss- 
ing. He did not abandon hope, but the whole 
movement resulted in a disheartening failure, 
which, as Colonel Dodge truly says, ' ' was not 
caused by want of courageous effort or intelligent 
action." Probably it is just as well that Sherman 
did not effect a lodgment on the hills behind Vicks- 
burg, for his forces might have fallen into any trap 
that Pemberton chose to lay for them. 

The day after New Year's, 1863, Sherman heard 
that General McClernand was at hand, having been 
appointed to take command of the " expeditionary 
force on the Mississippi Eiver. ' ' When he was met 
by McClernand, that general explained the misfor- 
tune which had overtaken Grant; and Sherman, 
choking down his disappointment, was obliged to 
admit that under these changed circumstances 
the present movement was hopeless. But in the 
North there were some critics — "military experts" 



112 WILLIAM TECTJMSEH SHEKMAN 

of course — who raised the cry that Sherman, al- 
though no longer a lunatic, was a "bungler." His- 
tory has completely vindicated the general, and no 
one was quicker to aid her in this connection than 
Grant himself. "The rebel position," he says, 
"was impregnable against any force that could be 
brought against its front." l 

When General McClernand arrived to take com- 
mand he seems to have had no definite plan of 
action for opening the navigation of the Mississippi 
and, as he euphoniously expressed it, "cutting his 
way to the sea. 7 ? The sea was there^ of course, down 
below New Orleans, but how was one to "cut" to 
it f It was finally decided that nothing could be 
done against Yicksburg for the present, and Sher- 
man, no doubt hoping, with the eagerness of a very 
human man, to reap some glory from the ill-fated 
expedition, suggested that they return via the Ar- 
kansas Eiver, and attack Arkansas Post, or Fort 
Hindman — a place over forty miles above its mouth, 
garrisoned by about 5,000 Confederates. General 
McClernand consented, after some hesitation, and 
soon the gunboats of Porter and the transports 
bearing the troops were steaming up the Mississippi 
once more. On the 6th of January Sherman is 
writing to his brother : 

"We are now en route for the Arkansas. Up 
that river the enemy is entrenched. . . . Now 

1 Sherman could not use one-fourth of his force. His efforts 
to capture the city, or the high ground north of it, were neces- 
sarily unavailing. — <: Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant." 



ON TO VICKSBURG 113 

it is unwise to leave such a force in our rear and 
flank, and inasmuch as General Grant is not pre- 
pared to march down to Vicksburg by land, we can 
attack this Post of Arkansas, and maybe reach Lit- 
tle Eock. Success in this quarter will have a good 
effect on the main river. But in the end Vicksburg 
must be reduced, and it is going to be a hard nut to 
crack." 

And he adds : " I suppose you are now fully con- 
vinced of the stupendous energy of the South and 
their ability to prolong this war indefinitely, but I am 
further satisfied that if it lasts thirty years we must 
fight it out, for the moment the North relaxes its 
energies the South will assume the offensive, and it 
is wonderful how well disciplined and provided 
they have their men." 

The transports and gunboats finally came within 
range of Fort Hindman. A bombardment by the 
latter was followed by an assault from the troops 
and marines, and the capture of the post, with the 
taking of 4,800 prisoners and seventeen guns (Jan- 
uary 11th). This ended the expedition up the 
Arkansas, and Grant, who had at first been inclined 
to disapprove of the movement as an unnecessary 
side issue, felt all the more confidence in Sherman 
when he realized the importance of the removal 
of nearly 5,000 Confederates from the scene. 1 

Sherman has left, in his " Memoirs," a graphic 

1 "Five thousand Confederate troops left in the rear might have 
caused us much trouble and loss of property while navigating 
the Mississippi, ' ' says Grant. 



114 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

account of the surrender of the post. " As the gun- 
boats got closer up I saw their flags actually over 
the parapet of Fort Hindman, and the rebel gun- 
ners scamper out of the embrasures and run down 
into the ditch behind. About the same time a man 
jumped up on the rebel parapet just where the road 
entered, waving a large white flag, and numerous 
smaller white rags appeared above the parapet 
along the whole line. I immediately ordered, 
' Cease firing ! ' and sent the same word dowu the 
line to General Steele, who had made similar prog- 
ress on the right, following the border of the 
swamp." Sherman ordered his aide, Colonel Day- 
ton, to jump on his horse and ride straight up to 
the large white flag ; and when Dayton's horse was 
on the parapet the General followed with the rest of 
his staff. On entering the line, he saw that the 
Union guns had done good execution ; for there was 
a horse battery in evidence, and " every horse lay 
dead in the traces." Dead men were lying around 
" very thick" ; the scene was one of desolation. 

Sherman inquired who commanded the Confeder- 
ates at this point of the line. A certain colonel 
stepped forward and claimed the honor. When 
General Churchill, the commander-in-chief of the 
fort, appeared on the scene, he asked furiously : 
" Why, colonel, did you display the white flag ?" 

" I received orders to do so from one of your 
staff!" answered the colonel, manfully. 

Churchill, according to Sherman, angrily denied 
ever giving such an order, and there was then 



ON TO VICKSBUKG 115 

enacted an unusual scene — that of two Confederate 
officers disputing with each other whilst a victorious 
Union general acted as peacemaker. 

" It makes little difference now," remarked Sher- 
man, who, tired and powder-begrimed though he 
was, must have appreciated the ironical humor of 
the situation ; "you are in our power now ! " The 
officers had the sense to stop quarreling ; Fort 
Hindman was now a Union post. 

After the capture, Sherman had an amusing in- 
terview with General McClernand, who, by virtue 
of his appointment, had been theoretically in com- 
mand of the expedition, and who arrogated to him- 
self the whole credit thereof. McClernand was in 
high spirits. He exclaimed repeatedly : ' ' Glorious ! 
Glorious ! My star is ever in the ascendant ! " He 
spoke of the troops in a complimentary way, but 
seemed very jealous of the work of Admiral Porter. 
The admiral had already told Sherman that he felt 
a " strong prejudice " against the general. 

" Fll make a splendid report ! " went on McCler- 
nand. "It's glorious ! " Sherman, who had no ex- 
alted opinion of his superior (whom he regarded as 
that most dangerous specimen of the military 
species, a "soldier-politician") unromantically an- 
swered by asking for something to eat and drink. 
That night he slept with the colonel who had been 
engaged in the dispute with General Churchill. 
The two made some coffee, ate their bread together, 
and talked politics until quite late, when they sank 
to sleep on straw saturated with the blood of 



116 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

dead or wounded men. Such are the contrasts of 
war. 

McClernand ran his erratic course in the Union 
army, and has long since been forgotten. 1 He 
lacked one of the greatest gifts of the successful 
general — the power to hold the confidence of his 
men. That was a gift that William Tecumseh Sher- 
man was fast acquiring. 

The feelings of General Sherman at this juncture 
may be inferred from a letter he wrote John Sher- 
man from Napoleon, at the junction of the Arkansas 
Eiver with the Mississippi, where the river expedi- 
tion rendezvoused after the attack on Fort Hind- 
man. a Mr. Lincoln," he says — and here his 
wounded pride for once got the better of his judg- 
ment and his faith in the President — "intended to 
insult me and the military profession by putting 
McClernand over me, and I would have quietly 
folded up my things and gone to St. Louis, only I 
knew in times like these all must submit to insult 
and infamy if necessary. ... I hope the poli- 
ticians will not interfere with Halleck. You have 
driven off McClellan, 2 and is Burnside any better? 
. . . I never dreamed of so severe a test of my 
patriotism as being superseded by McClernand, and 

1 John A. McClernand won greater distinction as a politician 
than he did as a general. He was relieved of his command of 
an army corps in July, 1863, and resigned from the army No- 
vember 30, 1864. He lived for many years after the war, and 
died in September, 1900. 

2 McClellan had been relieved of the command of the Army 
of the Potomac in November, 1862, while Burnside, his successor, 
had met disaster at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. 



ON TO VICKSBUBG 117 

if I can keep down my tamed (?) spirit and live I 
will claim a virtue higher than Brutus." A few 
days later he says: "The early actors and heroes 
of the war will be swept away, and those who study 
its progress, its developments, and divine its course 
and destiny will be most appreciated. ... As 
to making popularity out of it, it is simply ridicu- 
lous." 

Many of those who did try to "make popularity " 
out of the war were swept away as leaves before 
an autumn wind. Sherman, who attended to the 
business of war in a businesslike way, was to 
secure popularity and hero-worship because he 
never groveled for these pleasant evidences of 
fame. 

Some of the higher officers of the Union army, 
more particularly during the earlier portion of the 
war, when so many military reputations existed on 
a precarious tenure, were very energetic in their 
cultivation of the newspapers, through the corre- 
spondents who traveled with the armies. We need 
hardly point out that this was not one of Sherman's 
weaknesses. Indeed, just about this time, or several 
weeks later, characteristically, he was having trouble 
with one of the newspaper men, a correspondent of 
the New York Herald. The latter had accompanied 
the general's forces in defiance of orders, and had 
interspersed certain unauthorized information which 
he published in the Herald with some personal criti- 
cisms directed against Sherman himself. He was 
tried by court martial, found guilty of violating the 



118 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

orders of the War Department by publishing corre- 
spondence concerning military operations without 
the sanction of the general in command, and 
sentenced to be removed beyond the lines of the 
army, not to return again under pain of imprison- 
ment. This sentence was partially revoked by 
the President, who with his naturally kind heart 
combined a shrewd wish to retain, as far as possible, 
the friendship of the press. The offense, said Lin- 
coln, was " technical, rather than wilfully wrong," 
and he ordered that the correspondent, Thomas W. 
Knox, be allowed to go to General Grant's head- 
quarters — provided, however, that Grant should give 
his " express assent" thereto. 

But Grant, ever loyal to Sherman, refused this 
11 express assent," and in no uncertain terms. 
Writing from before Yicksburg (April 6, 1863) he 
tells Mr. Knox : l i You came here first in positive 
violation of an order from General Sherman. Be- 
cause you were not pleased with his treatment of 
army followers who had violated his order, you 
attempted to break down his influence with his 
command and to blast his reputation with the 
public. . . . General Sherman is one of the 
ablest soldiers and purest men in the country. You 
have attacked him and been sentenced to expulsion 
from this department for the offense. While I 
would conform to the slightest wish of the President 
where it is formed upon a fair representation of both 
sides of any question, my respect for General 
Sherman is such that in this case I must decline, 



ON TO VICKSBURG 119 

unless General Sherman first gives his consent, to 
your remaining-." 

This was a pretty brave refusal, under the cir- 
cumstances, for Grant was not yet the power that 
he later became. 

It may be imagined that, as the correspondent did 
not see fit to apologize, Sherman did not give the 
required consent. " The insolence of these fellows 
is insupportable," he wrote to Grant, in thanking 
him for this refusal. " Mr. Lincoln, of course, fears 
to incur the enmity of the Herald, but he must rule 
the Herald or the Herald will rule him ; he can take 
his choice. ... If the press be allowed to run 
riot and write up and write down at their pleasure, 
there is an end to a constitutional government in 
America, and anarchy must result." 

Of course, the question as to the rights of a war 
correspondent, forms a very delicate problem. The 
"freedom of the press" is one of the greatest safe- 
guards of any country, yet in time of war a little of 
that " freedom" may be judiciously curtailed. Ab- 
struse theories as to rights do not find much 
sympathy in war; as between a general and a 
journal the general must oftener be the auto- 
crat. 

General Force has well summed up these news- 
paper controversies when he says that Sherman did 
not appreciate the craving for information of a 
people wrought to a fever of interest. "He was 
military in every fibre. His care was to make his 
army efficient. He saw that the presence of any 



120 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

non-combatant was, to some extent, an incum- 
brance." x 

It is certain that Sherman had no reason to think 
with sentimental leniency of the outspoken way in 
which some of the newspapers criticised the conduct 
of the war. We can fancy him reading the follow- 
ing editorial excerpt from the Herald, published 
just before news of his success at Arkansas Post was 
received : 

"As the full details of the late unsuccessful dash 
of General Sherman against the rebel defenses of 
Vicksburg are laid before the country the decline of 
public confidence in Mr. Lincoln's administration is 
becoming positively alarming. . . . The clouds 
of doubt and despondency, which hitherto have 
been relieved by broad spaces of a clear sky, now 
seem to overshadow the firmament. With a de- 
spairing earnestness never witnessed till now, calm, 
thinking men are inquiring of each other, Is there 
any hope for the country from the present admin- 
istration? and, if none, will not chaos be upon us 
before the appointed period for the election of an- 
other?" (January 16, 1863). 

To return to the reduction of Vicksburg. The ne- 
cessity for such reduction became greater and greater 
as the days went on, and none the less so because a 
goodly number of persons in the North, Eepublicans 
as well as Democrats, were asking themselves, as the 
New York Herald had indicated, whether the war 
were not a failure, from the Union standpoint. 
1 ' ' General Sherman, ' ' page 114. 



ON TO YICKSBUKG 121 

After McClernand and his forces had reached Na- 
poleon, succeeding the capture of Arkansas Post, 
both Sherman and Admiral Porter sent word to Grant 
asking him to take command in person of any future 
movement to secure Yicksburg, and expressing their 
distrust of McClernand' s fitness for the direction of 
so intricate an expedition. So, on the 17th of Jan- 
uary, Grant visited the forces at Napoleon, and at 
once assured himself that McClernand so lacked the 
confidence of both army and navy that to keep him 
in command would be an element of grave weakness. 
"By this time," he says, "I had received authority 
to relieve McClernand or to assign any person else to 
the command of the river expedition, or to assume 
command in person. I felt great embarrassment 
about McClernand. He was the senior maj or-general 
after myself within the department. It would not 
do, with his rank and ambition, to assign a junior 
over him. Nothing was left, therefore, but to as- 
sume the command myself. I would have been glad 
to put Sherman in command, to give him an oppor- 
tunity to accomplish what he had failed in the De- 
cember before ; but there seemed no other way out 
of the difficulty, for he was junior to McClernand. 
Sherman's failure needs no apology." 

The result was that on January 29th, General 
Grant arrived at Young's Point, on the Mississippi, 
above Yicksburg, and assumed personal command 
of the operations against that city, with a force com- 
prising 50,000 men and Porter's flotilla of gunboats. 
His army, as now organized, consisted of the Thir- 



122 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

teenth Corps, under McClernand, the Fifteenth Corps, 
commanded by General Sherman, the Sixteenth under 
Hurlbut, and the Seventeenth under the brilliant 
McPherson. The campaign had begun in earnest. 
The problem, as Grant saw it, was l i to secure a foot- 
ing upon dry ground on the east side of the Mis- 
sissippi from which the troops could operate against 
Vicksburg." 

Three schemes were suggested, as follows : 

First, to march the army down the west bank of 
the Mississippi, cross the river below Yicksburg, 
and co-operate with General Banks, who was com- 
manding an expedition ascending the river from 
New Orleans. 

Second, to make a canal across the peninsula op- 
posite Vicksburg, through which the gunboats and 
transports could pass, and which was to be kept 
open as a line of communication for supplies. 

Third, to turn the Mississippi from its course by 
opening a new channel, via Lake Providence, and 
through various bayous to Red Eiver. 

The high water and the general condition of the 
neighboring country made the first plan impracti- 
cable. The second scheme, too, was destined to fail, 
owing to the breaking of the levees, and the flooding 
of the country. As to the third method, a force was 
set to work to develop it, and it was finally found 
impossible to secure a practicable channel. An at- 
tempt to open a route via Yazoo Pass, the Talla- 
hatchie, the Yalabusha and the Yazoo Eivers was also 
abandoned. There were still no omens of Grant's 



ON TO VICKSBURG 123 

future military acumen. But with his usual perse- 
verance, and apparently oblivious to sarcastic obser- 
vations at the North, he determined to place his 
army below the fortress of Vicksburg (where Pem- 
berton now had between 25,000 and 30,000 men) and 
turn Pemberton' s left. The latter also had 20,000 
men at Grenada and 4,000 at Jackson, Miss. Grant 
would run the river batteries with the gun-boats 
and transports loaded with supplies, march his 
troops down the west side of the river to the 
vicinity of New Carthage, below Vicksburg, and 
then ferry them across to the east bank. It was a 
desperate attempt— and to its successful outcome 
Sherman contributed his full share. 

A part of the latter' s corps was sent up the river 
to make a diversion against Pemberton, and this 
work was finely accomplished. McClernand was 
ordered to New Carthage ; the transports and gun- 
boats successfully passed the batteries at Vicksburg. 
At the end of April Grant joined McClernand, and 
then marched to a point opposite Grand Gulf, twenty 
miles south of Vicksburg. Pemberton, thinking that 
this was merely a demonstration, took more heed to 
his right at Haines Bluff, where Sherman was mak- 
ing the necessary pretense of activity. In this in- 
stance, at least, the latter proved himself an able 
diplomat. 

Charles A. Dana, who had recently joined the 
forces operating against Vicksburg, in order to give 
Lincoln and Secretary Stanton his private views of 
the efficiency of Grant — then considered a doubtful 



124 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

quantity at Washington — furnishes an attractive es- 
timate of Sherman about this time. " Everything I 
saw of Sherman, " he says, " increased my admira- 
tion for him. He was a very brilliant man, and an 
excellent commander of a corps. Sherman's infor- 
mation was great, and he was a clever talker. He 
always liked to have people about who could keep 
up with his conversation ; besides, he was genial and 
unaffected. I particularly admired his loyalty to 
Grant. He had criticised the plan of campaign 
frankly in the first place, but had supported every 
movement with all his energy. . . . It is a little 
remarkable that the three chief figures in this great 
Vicksburg campaign — Grant, Sherman, and McPher- 
son, — were all born in Ohio. The utmost cordiality 
and confidence existed between these three men, and 
it always seemed to me that much of the success 
achieved in these marches and battles was owing to 
this very fact. There was no jealousy or bickering, 
and in their unpretending simplicity they were as 
alike as three peas.' 7 ' 

Before this Sherman had written to his brother : 
' ' Mr. Dana is here. He spent a few hours with me 
yesterday, and I went over with him many of the 
events of the past year, with the maps and records 
with which I am well supplied. Indeed all look to 
me for maps and facts. Dana remarked to one of 
Grant's staff, incidentally, that he was better pleased 
with me than he could possibly have expected." 

1 ' ' RecoJ lections of the Civil War. ' ' Dana was sent to the front 
ostensibly as a special commissioner to investigate pay accounts. 



ON TO VICKSBUEG 125 

How Grand Bluff was finally evacuated by the 
enemy ; how Grant, by a series of brilliant yet 
hazardous manoeuvres, wherein Sherman assisted so 
admirably, defeated Pemberton at Champion's Hill 
and then drove him back into the defenses of Vicks- 
burg ; how the enemy became demoralized ; how 
Pemberton was adroitly "cooped up" — all these 
features of the campaign are familiar tales. Sher- 
man, McClernand and McPherson now invested the 
works built by the Confederates for the defense of 
the city. It seemed like poetic j ustice that Sherman, 
on his line of march against Yicksburg, should have 
been led to the very point on the Yazoo Eiver 
bluffs (May 19th) occupied by the enemy in the De- 
cember before, when he met with repulse. In secur- 
ing this position he and Grant, stirred by impatience, 
moved in front of their column and "well up 
with the advanced skirmishers." There were some 
detached works along the crest of the hill, and for a 
short time the Confederate bullets whistled merrily 
over the heads, and on each side, of the two 
generals. How the history of the war might have 
been changed if some of the flying lead had hit these 
two shining marks ! But they reached the crest in 
safety ; the bullets ceased to rain ; Sherman looked 
down with unconcealed pleasure from the spot once 
so fondly coveted. "He turned to me," relates 
Grant, " saying that up to this minute he had felt no 
positive assurance of success. This, however, he 
said, was the end of one of the greatest campaigns in 
history, and I ought to make a report of it at once." 



126 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

Vicksburg, added Sherman, was not yet captured, 
and there was i i no telling what might happen before 
it was taken, but whether captured or not, this was 
a complete and successful campaign." 

It is impossible to underestimate the triumph 
which must have filled Grant and his colleague as 
they looked back at Yicksburg, and felt how com- 
pletely they had hemmed in the place. At last 
Grant had shown the world that he was no crack- 
brained schemer. "We all knew," writes Sher- 
man, "that General McClernand was still intriguing 
against General Grant, in hopes to regain the com- 
mand of the whole expedition, and that others were 
raising a clamor against General Grant in the news- 
papers at the North. Even Mr. Lincoln and Gen- 
eral Halleck seemed to be shaken, but at no instant 
of time did we, his personal friends, slacken in our 
loyalty to him." And so the loyalty of Sherman 
was vindicated as he gazed exultantly from the 
Yazoo bluffs. No more talk of a crazy Sherman, no 
more talk of a drunken, incompetent Grant. Even 
if the latter did drink, his brain had not been 
fuddled thereby. 

Grant soon found that the Confederate works were 
too strong to be taken by assault. "We have as- 
saulted at five distinct points at two distinct times," 
Sherman tells his brother, in a letter dated May 
29th, " and failed to cross the parapet. Our loss was 
heavy, and we are now approaching with pick and 
shovel. ... In the meantime we are daily 
pouring into the city a perfect storm of shot and 



ON TO VICKSBUEG 127 

shells, and our sharp-shooters are close up and fire 
at any head that is rash enough to show itself above 
ground." 

Several days later Mr. Dana, who was in General 
Grant's headquarters, on a high bluff northeast of 
Sherman's extreme left, wrote to his little daughter : 
" Every night I sleep with one side of the tent wide 
open and the walls put up all around to get plenty 
of air. Sometimes I wake up in the night, and 
think it is raining, the wind roars so in the tops of 
the great oak forest on the hillside where we are en- 
camped, and I think it is thundering till I look out 
and see the golden moonlight in all its glory, and 
listen again and know that it is only the thunder of 
General Sherman's great guns, that neither rest nor 
let others rest by night or by day." Sherman was, 
indeed, full of activity throughout this extraordinary 
campaign. 

Grant had now settled down to a regular state of 
siege; or, in other words, he saw that he must 
starve out the garrison which, skilfully entrenched, 
well-armed and stout-hearted, was making so valiant 
a defense. Soon the Union engineers were con- 
structing trenches and batteries, while the firing 
from army and navy kept on increasing. In the 
city Pemberton, full of anxiety, was cutting down 
the rations of his men and wondering whether Gen- 
eral Joseph E. Johnston would come to his relief 
with reinforcements. Johnston, as we know, never 
successfully aided Pemberton, although he took the 
field and obliged Grant to detail General Blair with 



128 WILLIAM TECTTMSEH SHEKMAN 

six brigades to hold him in check. Then Grant re- 
ceived reinforcements ; seventy thousand men now 
threatened Yicksburg ; its investment was more 
complete than before. The engineers continued 
their mining operations, while the men within the 
fortress waxed thinner, and the heart of Pemberton 
grew more troubled. In the meantime, General 
McClernand was relieved of his command, after 
Sherman and McPherson had complained of a " ful- 
some" order which he had published to his own 
corps, the Thirteenth, and which did gross injustice 
to the soldiers of the other corps. The star of this 
soldier-politician was no longer "in the ascendant." 
On the 22d of June Grant received information 
that General Johnston had crossed the Big Black 
Biver, in order to attack the Union forces in the 
rear, and thus raise the siege. He at once ordered 
Sherman to the command of all the troops from 
Haines Bluff, on the Yazoo, to Big Black Eiver — a 
force numbering quite half the troops about Yicks- 
burg. But Johnston abstained from assaulting the 
besiegers, and wisely so, as Grant thought, " because 
it would simply have inflicted loss on both sides 
without accomplishing any result." By this time, 
outside help failing, the garrison was doomed. The 
" Yankees" began to boast that they would cele- 
brate the coming Fourth of July in Yicksburg. 
The picket lines of the contending forces were so 
close to each other, in places, that the "Yanks" 
and "Bebs" could carry on an animated conversa- 
tion. ' ' When are you coming into town ? ' J asked a 



ON TO VICKSBUKG 129 

Confederate picket. "On the Fourth!" replied a 
" Yank," and the boast was not an idle one. 

It was while Sherman was watching for the ex- 
pected approach of General Johnston that he had 
one of those curious experiences which are possible 
only in a fratricidal conflict. As he was riding along 
his line, near a farm known as "Parson" Fox's, 

he heard that the family of a General W , of 

Louisiana, were "refugeeing" in the neighborhood. 
The wife of this general happened to be spending the 
day at "Parson" Fox's, and thither Sherman went, 
for he found that her son had been one of his pupils 
in the military academy in Louisiana. He rode into 
the place accompanied by his staff and escort, and 
discovered "Parson" Fox and a number of ladies 
sitting on the porch. To one of these ladies, who 
was Mrs. W , Sherman politely introduced him- 
self, explaining that he was the same Sherman who 
had been superintendent at Alexandria, and inquir- 
ing, in kindly fashion, after her son, the cadet. 

Mrs. W replied that the boy was at that mo- 
ment inside of Vicksburg, serving as an artillery 
lieutenant. 

"And how is your husband, General W ?" 

inquired Sherman, in his desire to be courteous, for 
he had known the general before the war. 

The poor woman burst into tears. " You killed 
him at Bull Run, where he was fighting for his 
country ! " she cried. At this all the women on the 
porch went into hysterical lamentations, and the 
discomfited Sherman beat a hasty retreat. He 



130 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

could face a great army, but not the tears of a heart- 
broken wife. 

This interview, however, did not end the incident. 
It was the day before the Fourth of July when, as 
Sherman sat at his bivouac by the roadside, he saw 
a wretched horse, led by a small pickaninny, coming 
across a cotton -field toward him. Upon the horse 

was Mrs. W , presenting a sad and dreary 

spectacle. 

Sherman ran forward, helped the unhappy lady 
to dismount, and asked what had brought her out 
in such guise. 

"I know that Vicksburg is going to surrender," 
she cried, ' ' and I want to go there right away to see 
my boy ! " 

Sherman tried to dissuade her from the attempt, 
and did all he could to console her ; but she held her 
point with all the warm-hearted obstinacy of a 
mother who must see her child and will not be denied. 
At last the general, who could not forget that he 
had children of his own, gracefully surrendered. 
He gave her a letter to General Grant, asking him 
to give the mother the earliest opportunity of seeing 
her son. There was a distance of about twenty miles 
between Sherman and Grant, but off the lady rode 
on her scrawny charger, and it is pleasant to know 
that she finally saw the boy, who had escaped un- 
harmed from the shot and shell fired into the fortifi- 
cations. A few hours later Sherman received word 
from Grant that negotiations for the surrender of 
Vicksburg were in progress. 



ON TO VICKSBUKG 131 

About ten o'clock on this very morning white 
flags suddenly appeared on portions of the Confeder- 
ate works. At last the starving-out process, so 
much grimmer and so much surer than a hundred 
assaults, had won. General Pemberton sent two 
of his officers to Grant, bearing a letter propos- 
ing an armistice, with capitulation in view. "I 
make this proposition,' 7 he wrote, with a bravado 
that a conqueror might pardon, ' ' to save the further 
effusion of blood, which might otherwise be shed to 
a frightful extent, — feeling myself fully able to main- 
tain my position for a yet indefinite period." ' 

Grant was like Sherman, in that he always had a 
chivalrous respect for the courage of the South — un- 
like certain stay-at-home politicians who never could 
speak of Confederates save as "cowardly traitors," 
etc. He replied to Pemberton that he would expect 
the unconditional surrender of the city and garrison, 
but he added : i i Men who have shown so much en- 
durance and courage as those now in Vicksburg 
will always challenge the respect of an adversary, 
and I can assure you will be treated with all the re- 
spect due to prisoners of war." 

After a meeting and some correspondence between 
Grant and Pemberton, the latter yielded up Vicks- 
burg. About 31, 000 prisoners were surrendered on 
parole, together with 172 cannon, some 60,000 mus- 
kets, and a large quantity of ammunition. On the 

1 After Grant entered Vicksburg he saw Union soldiers taking 
bread from their haversacks, and handing it to their late ene- 
mies. " It was accepted with avidity and with thanks." 



132 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

afternoon of the same day, the Fourth of July, Grant 
sent the following despatch to Halleck : 

' ' The enemy surrendered this morning. The only 
terms allowed is their parole as prisoners of war. 
This I regard as a great advantage to us at this mo- 
ment. . . . Sherman, with a large force, moves 
immediately on Johnston, to drive him from the 
state." 

The capture of Vicksburg, coming at the same 
time as the defeat of General Lee at Gettysburg, 
carried joyousness and hope into the hearts of the 
loyal Northerners. The croakers began to hide their 
diminished heads, and Grant and Sherman were ac- 
claimed the heroes of the day — while Meade, 
McPherson and the others also soon learned 
the truth of the axiom that nothing succeeds like 
success. The Confederates surrendered Port Hud- 
son on July 9th ; the Mississippi River was now 
in possession of the Federal forces ; and the Army 
of the Tennessee was enabled to unite with the Army 
of the Gulf, thus making a line of division in the 
Confederate states. Furthermore, Pennsylvania no 
longer stood in fear of an invasion by Lee. 

With a pride that may easily be condoned, after 
the slurs he had suffered, Sherman writes to his 
brother: "The fall of Vicksburg, and consequent 
capitulation of Port Hudson, the opening of the 
navigation of the Mississippi, and now the driving 
out of this great valley the only strong army that 
threatened us, complete as pretty a page in the 
history of war and of our country as ever you could 



ON TO VICKSBURG 133 

ask my name to be identified with. The share I 
have personally borne in all these events is one in 
which you may take pride for me. You know I 
have avoided notoriety, and the press, my standard 
enemy, may strip me of all popular applause; but 
not a soldier of the Army of the Tennessee but knows 
the part I have borne in this great drama, and the 
day will come when that army will speak in a voice 
that cannot be drowned." 

The press, however, generously accorded due 
praise to the victorious generals. Even the New 
York Herald, once so lugubrious, became almost 
ecstatic. "New York was electrified," it says, 
" with the joyful news of the surrender of Yicksburg 
on the Fourth of July. Of all the days in the 
calendar this was the day to give the most powerful 
moral effect, in the loyal and in the rebellious states, 
to this great achievement. The splendid victory of 
General Meade, on the 3d in Pennsylvania, and this 
magnificent triumph of General Grant on the ' glo- 
rious Fourth/ a thousand miles away on the Missis- 
sippi, are two of the most remarkable, ominous and 
appropriate events, in a chronological view, of all 
the strange and wonderful coincidences of the war. 
We may now say, without a misgiving or reserva- 
tion, that not only have we broken the backbone, 
but the head and front of the Rebellion ; that its 
days are numbered, and that a general collapse from 
Virginia to Texas is close at hand." And gaining 
in enthusiasm, as the leader continues down the 
page, the Herald predicts that Lee's retreating 



134 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

army will speedily be captured or cut to pieces. 
' ' Iu anticipation of this decisive work, we may say 
that even at this moment the rebellion is sup- 
pressed" (July 8, 1863). 

The Herald of course was going too fast. Lee's 
army escaped, and although the " backbone" of the 
Eebellion was broken, the " head" was not crushed 
until nearly two years later. There was still great 
work to do, with Sherman as one of the chief partic- 
ipants. For his services in the Vicksburg cam- 
paign he was made a brigadier-general in the reg- 
ular army, with a commission to date, appropriately, 
from July 4, 1863. He was now ready for greater 
things. 



CHAPTEE VI 

SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 

As soon as General Johnston heard of the fall of 
Vicksburg he retired with his army to Jackson, 
Miss., being "too late," as he telegraphed to the 
Eichmond government, to retrieve the campaign. 
A number of critics, including some on his own side 
of Mason and Dixon's line, seemed to think that he 
might have been more aggressive in his attempts to 
help General Pemberton. But, for the matter of 
that, Pemberton was criticised for his necessary sur- 
render. Failure in war always brings a variety of 
condemnation, just and unjust. 

Sherman, with a force raised to nearly 50,000 men, 
crossed the Big Black Eiver and concentrated his 
army within twenty miles of Jackson. The march 
was a distressing one, owing to the intense heat ; nor 
did the fact that the streams crossed by the columns 
were filled with dead cattle, thrown there by the 
swiftly retreating Confederates, make the movement 
any more attractive. Sherman, however, was al- 
ways prompt in his marches; he was soon closely 
besieging Johnston at Jackson, and shelling the town 
from every direction. The latter was in no position 
to stand an operation of this character, so he made 
preparations to slip away quietly to the eastward. 



136 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

On the morning of July 17th Sherman found the 
place evacuated, and so took possession of it. Pur- 
suit was useless. There were, of course, a number 
of Confederate sick and wounded whom Johnston 
was obliged to leave behind. To these Sherman 
issued medicines and food, while a large quantity of 
rations was given to the half-starved families living 
in the town. This was only a fair exchange, when 
it is considered that Grant's army, by foraging, had 
laid waste the country for fifty miles around Vicks- 
burg. Grant himself (who was now a major-general 
in the regular army) had thus written to Sher- 
man : "Impress upon the men the importance of 
going through the state in an orderly manner, ab- 
staining from taking anything not absolutely neces- 
sary for their subsistence while traveling. They 
should try to create as favorable an impression as 
possible upon the people." Evidently the time was 
not yet ripe for the advent of Sherman's "bum- 
mers" — those light-fingered gentlemen who were 
destined to make his name execrated for a generation 
in the South. 

Sherman was now ordered back to Vicksburg. 
Near the city he encamped his corps, and remained 
inactive for a short time. While here his heart 
must have been gladdened by a letter which he re- 
ceived from John Sherman. " With you," says the 
senator, "it [the press] has been especially lauda- 
tory. Even your old enemy, the Cincinnati Gazette, 
has in several recent numbers spoken of you in very 
complimentary terms and without any apparent 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 137 

recollection that it has libeled you for months. 
Indeed, it is now unnecessary for you to care for de- 
fenders." l 

We may defy newspaper opinion as we will, but 
we are all human enough to rejoice when a journal 
changes from an enemy into a friend. And thus 
Sherman was happy, as he looked after army routine, 
with Vicksburg in the near distance, and pursued 
his favorite occupations of letter- writing and anath- 
ematizing the politicians. One long and interest- 
ing letter was addressed to General Halleck, in re- 
sponse to an invitation to submit certain ideas, 
which might be conveyed to Mr. Lincoln, on the 
coming question of "reconstruction" in Louisiana, 
Mississippi and Arkansas. The gist of Sherman's 
advice was to ' ' raise the draft to its maximum, fill 
the present regiments to as large a standard as pos- 
sible, and push the war, pure and simple." In this 
communication it will also be seen that the writer, 
impelled by his own line of thinking, the inevitable 
trend of military operations, and the passions 
naturally engendered by what he calls a ' ' fratricidal 
war," had developed into a species of radical. He 
was not an "Abolitionist," or a mawkish sentimen- 
talist about the "poor colored brother," but yet as 
much of a radical in his way as was Mr. Jefferson 
Davis in his way. 

"I would deem it very unwise at this time, or for 
years to come," he wrote to Halleck, "to revive the 
state governments of Louisiana, etc., or to institute 

page 210. 



138 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

in this quarter any civil government in which the 
local people have much to say. They had a govern- 
ment so mild and paternal that they gradually for- 
got they had any at all, save what they themselves 
controlled ; they asserted an absolute right to seize 
public moneys, forts, arms, and even to shut up the 
natural avenues of commerce. They chose war — 
they ignored and denied all the obligations of the 
solemn contract of government, and appealed to 
force. We accepted the issue, and now they begin 
to realize that war is a two-edged sword." 

This was a slightly different view from that of 
Jefferson Davis, who afterward in referring to these 
times, spoke of ' ' those terrible scenes of wrong and 
blood in which the government of the United States, 
driven to desperation by our successful resistance, 
broke through every restraint of the Constitution, of 
national law, of justice, and of humanity." ' Sher- 
man's stand was somewhat different, too, from the one 
he had taken less than four years before, when he 
wrote to John Sherman, from Louisiana, that "it 
would be the height of folly to drive the South to des- 
peration." But such a change in sentiment was 
inevitable. Sherman's views grew fiery, perforce, 
just as did the views of many honest Southerners. 
The time for compromise on either side had passed ; 
North and South alike threw charity to the winds, 
and engaged in a death struggle. Truly "war is 
cruelty." 

1 From the London edition of "The Rise and Fall of the Con- 
federate Government " ; Volume II, Part IV, page 1. 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 139 

In this letter to Halleck General Sherman makes 
some pungent remarks anent the people living along 
the borders of the Mississippi River. He divides 
them into four classes : namely, the ' i large 
planters" (in some districts "bitter as gall," in 
other sections " conservative ") ; the " smaller 
farmers, mechanics, merchants and laborers" 
(" three-quarters of the whole," led into the war' 
"on the false theory that they were to be benefited/ 
somehow — they knew not how"); the "Unioil 
men of the South" ; and the "young bloods of 
the South." For the third class, over which it was 
the fashion at the North to waste some foolish sym- 
pathy, the writer expresses the most profound con- 
tempt. " Afraid of shadows, they submit tamely to 
squads of dragoons, and permit them, without a 
murmur, to burn their cotton, take their horses, 
corn and everything ; and, when we reach them, 
they are full of complaints if our men take a few 
fence-rails for fire, or corn to feed our horses. They 
give us no assistance or information, and are loudest 
in their complaints at the smallest excesses of our 
soldiers. Their sons, horses, arms, and everything 
useful, are in the army against us, and they stay at 
home, claiming all the exemptions of peaceful citi- 
zens." 

Sherman would have had much more respect for 
these "Union men of the South" had they been in 
the Confederate army. He ever despised "trim- 
mers." Nowadays no one sheds a tear over these 
men. In this twentieth century, when we look at 



140 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

the war with calm feelings, we like to think of the 
Southerners who fought for the Confederacy and the 
Northerners who fought for the Union — not of 
"copperheads" in either camp. 

Of the fourth class General Sherman gives Hal- 
leck a short but picturesque description which 
makes us almost regret that our hero after the war 
never turned his attention to writing as a fine art. 
" Sons of planters, lawyers about towns, good billiard 
players, and sportsmen, men who never did work 
and never will. War suits them and the rascals are 
brave, fine riders, bold to rashness, and dangerous 
subjects in every sense. They care not a sou for 
niggers, land, or anything. They hate Yankees, 
per se, and don't bother their brains about the past, 
present or future. As long as they have good 
horses, plenty of forage, and an open country they 
are happy. ... At present horses cost them 
nothing, for they take what they find, and don't 
bother their brains as to who is to pay for them ; 
the same may be said of the corn-fields, which have, 
as they believe, been cultivated by a good-natured 
people for their especial benefit. We propose to 
share with them the free use of these corn-fields, 
planted by willing hands, that will never gather the 
crops." 

On the same day that he writes to Halleck, Sher- 
man sends a few lines to General Rawlins, Grant's 
devoted friend and staff officer. At one time, he 
tells Rawlins, he (Sherman) was considered " un- 
sound" by the authorities at Washington, because 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 141 

he would not "go it blind " into the war; "now 
that I insist on war pure and simple, with no ad- 
mixture of civil compromises, I am supposed vin- 
dictive. " And he quotes the advice of Polonius to 
Laertes: "Beware of entrance to a quarrel; but, 
being in, bear it, that the opposed may beware of 
thee." There were still worthy souls in the North, 
be it remembered, who hoped for some sort of "civil 
compromises" and an immediate cessation of the 
war. 

Thus Sherman whiled away his rare leisure with 
the pen. It is curious to reflect, by the way, that 
while he and Grant were so alike in some respects, 
they differed very radically in this amusement of 
letter- writing, as well as in the art of purely vocal 
expression. Unlike Sherman, Grant at all times re- 
sisted the temptation to talk and write. "He was 
apparently always striving to do as much as he could 
with the least possible use of words." This was a 
virtue that particularly commended him to Lincoln. 
He never wrote a letter if he could avoid it, and 
what he had to write was in general directly to the 
point. " When the whole country would be sound- 
ing his praises he would be silently preparing for his 
next splendid triumph, and when his detractors 
would be most active in trying to humiliate and to 
ruin him he would preserve the same quiet demeanor 
and pursue the same steadfast course." 

The contrast between the two men only makes their 
friendship the more attractive. The taciturnity of 
Grant fitted in well with the impulsiveness of his 



142 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

colleague. And there were, too, other differences 
of temperament. Long after the war a writer who 
had studied the methods and personal qualities of 
both generals pointed out that their similar educa- 
tion at West Point had not cast them in the same 
mould of thought and feeling. The one looked at 
things with a serenity that seemed little less than 
heroic, whereas the other was easily susceptible to 
causes of excitement. " While Grant could sit 
upon his horse at the crisis of a battle, coolly smok- 
ing a cigar as he gave orders of vital significance, 
Sherman could not remain still for a moment, but 
would show in every way the keenest anxiety and 
enthusiasm. It was impossible to tell from the ex- 
pression of the former's face how an engagement 
was going, but the latter' s features plainly adver- 
tised each successive advance or repulse. . . . 
There was no movement that they executed in ex- 
actly the same manner. They observed the same 
general rules, but applied them with variations of 
detail that were no less curious than characteristic 
— and, somehow, the final results were usually such 
as to vindicate both processes." 1 

Grant was a man of infinite patience ; Sherman 
(save in certain military movements where common 
sense warned him to be otherwise) was a man of in- 
finite impatience. It was not in his nature to con- 
ceal his honest sentiments, or to think that speech 
was made to hide thought, or to wait patiently for 
time to rectify abuses or injustices. "The fault 

1 St. Louis Globe- Democrat, February 22, 1891. 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 143 

would have been a grave one in a man more dis- 
posed to do injury and less capable of correcting a 
blunder, but in Sherman it was readily forgivable, 
because of his sterling integrity and his unfailing 
magnanimity." 

It has been said that Sherman was a firmer be- 
liever in strategy than Grant. Yet we all know 
that he was no blind servitor of this same strategy. 
He was a thorough organizer and a great admirer 
of tactics and discipline ; but he also reserved the 
right to be original, and, if necessary, unconven- 
tional, in military matters. While he desired his 
battalions to be well-appointed and skilfully 
handled, he was not (as Colonels Bowman and 
Irwin well say) " one of those cool, methodical and 
tenacious" generals bent on owing everything to 
tactics and nothing to Fortune. Nor yet would he 
rely too much on that fickle lady. His theory, so 
far as it can be described, was, " first to have a prop- 
erly appointed and duly proportioned army 
equal to the undertaking in hand ; next, to school 
his army in tactics, so as to make it capable of 
quick and accurate movement ; then to accustom it 
to battle in minor engagements and secondary 
victories; and, finally, to strike home for grand 
results." In short, Sherman, as we shall see, had 
the mind to invent a colossal movement and the ex- 
ecutive ability to carry it out. More than that 
could not have been asked of Napoleon. The latter 
was inclined to believe, despite his fatalism, that 
the gods generally favored the strongest battalions. 



144 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Whilst Sherman was lying idle in camp near 
Vicksburg, on the west bank of the Big Black, the 
eastern bank was watched by a division of Confed- 
erate cavalry. One day a flag of truce, borne by a 
Louisville captain, with an escort of twenty men or 
more, was dispatched from this division into the 
Union camp. Sherman, taking the part of host 
rather than that of the enemy, invited the captain 
and another Confederate officer to come into his 
tent and ' l make themselves at home. ' ' The captain 
had brought a sealed letter for Grant, which was 
forwarded to Vicksburg. In the evening Sherman 
treated the two officers to a good supper, which they 
doubtless appreciated (provisions not being very 
plentiful just then among the Southerners around 
Vicksburg), and supplemented the meal with wine 
and good cigars. Of course, the conversation turned 
upon the conflict that was raging. 

' ' What is the use of your persevering % ' ' asked 
the captain. "It is simply impossible to subdue 
8,000,000 people — and the feeling in the South has 
become so embittered that a reconciliation is out of 
the question." 

"Sitting as we now are, we appear pretty com- 
fortable," remarked Sherman, dryly, "and surely 
there seems to be no trouble in our being friends." 

"Yes, that is very true of us," answered the 
Confederate, " but we are gentlemen of education, 
and can easily adapt ourselves to any condition of 
things. This, however, would not apply equally well 
to the common people, or to the common soldiers." 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 145 

Sherman did not answer in words. He merely 
led the captain out to the camp-fires behind his tent, 
and pointed to the members of the Confederate 
escort, who were contentedly drinking coffee and 
hobnobbing with Union soldiers. 

" What do you think of that ? " asked the general. 

"I must admit that you have the best of the 
argument," said the captain, very handsomely, 
and thus the discussion ended. Sherman's views 
as to the quickness with which the two sections 
could be reconciled would have been speedily vin- 
dicated at the close of the war had it not been for 
the crimes committed by venal Northern politicians 
in the name of " Reconstruction. " The sending of 
rascally "carpet-baggers" into the South, and the 
mistake of granting the elective franchise to the 
negro — the dangerous policy of trying to put the 
black race over the white race, a policy which no 
self-respecting Northerner would ever stand in his 
own section — delayed for years the resumption of 
really friendly relations between North and South. 

During this period the Army of the Cumberland, 
under General Eosecrans, was moving against 
Bragg at Chattanooga ; and the Army of the Ohio, 
under Burnside, was marching toward east Ten- 
nessee. Then Bragg, reinforced by Longstreet from 
Virginia, drew out of Chattanooga, crossed Chicka- 
mauga Creek, and fell upon General Thomas, com- 
manding the left of Rosecrans' army (September 
19th). The results of this action — the splendid 
courage of Thomas in the midst of a routed army ; 



146 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Rosecrans' frantic efforts to rally the right j the 
bottling up of the Army of the Cumberland in 
Chattanooga — are exciting chapters of our war 
record. That army, which had lost some seventeen 
thousand men, was now practically besieged. The 
soldiers penned up there were in actual peril of 
starvation ; the situation was more than dangerous, 
and the government at Washington was in a state 
bordering on panic. Some alarmists were asking 
themselves whether the capture of Vicksburg and 
the victory at Gettysburg were to have any real 
value, after all. Bragg now took possession of 
Missionary Ridge, overlooking Chattanooga, and 
also occupied Lookout Mountain, west of the town, 
which had been abandoned by Rosecrans. 

Reinforcements, under General Hooker, were 
hurried from the east, while Halleck sent word to 
Grant to despatch at once toward Chattanooga such 
troops as he could spare. Sherman was ordered 
to take the major part of his corps from the Big- 
Black to the same destination, via Memphis, it being 
understood that he should move from that city east- 
ward, repairing railroads as he progressed. 

Just after the arrival of General Sherman and 
Mrs. Sherman in Memphis, his little boy, Willie, 
died there of typhoid fever. 1 The parents were 
almost heart-broken, and Sherman bitterly re- 
proached himself for having allowed the child to 
visit him in the camp on the Big Black, " in that 
sickly region," in the summer time. To the captain 
1 October 3, 1863. 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 147 

of a battalion of regulars acting as an escort at the 
boy's funeral, General Sherman afterward addressed 
a letter of thanks which, in its pathos, and in the 
domestic light it shed upon its writer, formed a 
strong contrast to the stern, grim duties of war 
then engaging his attention. 

"For myself I ask no sympathy," he says. 
" On, on, I must go, to meet a soldier's fate, or live 
to see our country rise superior to all factions, till 
its flag is adored and respected by ourselves and by 
all the powers of the earth. But Willie was, or 
thought he was, a sergeant in the Thirteenth 
[United States Eegulars]. I have seen his eye 
brighten, his heart beat as he beheld the battalion 
under arms, and asked me if they were not real 
soldiers. Child as he was, he had the enthusiasm, 
the pure love of truth, honor, and love of country, 
which should animate all soldiers. . . . Please 
convey to the battalion my heart-felt thanks, 
and assure each and all that if in after years 
they call on me or mine, and mention that 
they were of the Thirteenth Regulars when Willie 
was a sergeant, they will have a key to the affec- 
tions of my family that will open all it has, that 
we will share with them our last blanket, our last 
crust. ' ' 

Sherman, however, had little time to indulge his 
grief. War would not wait. About the middle of 
October General Grant was called from Yicksburg 
and sent in person to the relief of Rosecrans at 
Chattanooga, being put in command of the "Mili- 



148 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

tary Division of the Mississippi" (comprising the 
Armies of the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee) 
and authorized to replace Rosecrans by the steadier 
George H. Thomas. On Sherman now devolved 
the command of the Army of the Tennessee. He 
had already set off on a special train for the scene 
of the siege on Sunday morning, the 11th of October 
(after putting his whole force in motion) with the 
battalion of the Thirteenth Regulars as an escort. 
On that trip our general had a narrow escape from 
being taken prisoner by the Confederates. 

As the special was running about half a mile be- 
yond the station of Colliersville, twenty-five or 
twenty-six miles out of Memphis, Sherman, who 
was peacefully dozing in the rear car with his staff, 
awoke to find the engine slackening in speed. The 
train soon stopped. Noticing soldiers running to 
and fro outside, Sherman leaped from the car, and 
saw dashing toward him, on horseback, Colonel 
Anthony, who commanded a Union post at this 
point. "My pickets have just been driven in,'" 
cried the officer, ' l and there is appearance of an at- 
tack by a large force of rebel cavalry coming from 
the southeast V 7 

Sherman, ever ready for a brush, at once 
ordered the soldiers on the train to form on a little 
hill near the railroad cut. This they did. Soon a 
Confederate officer, bearing a white flag, came 
riding boldly up, and explaining that he was the 
adjutant of General Chalmers, demanded, in the 
latter' s name, the surrender of the place. Sherman 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 149 

was iu an extremely precarious position, but he 
retained that presence of mind and exhibited that 
resourcefulness which never deserted him before the 
enemy. He refused to capitulate, and, the moment 
the Confederate had ridden off to report to Chalmers, 
he hurried one of his staff back to the railroad 
station at Colliersville, with directions to tele- 
graph for help to General John M. Corse, who was 
marching along from Memphis with the Fourth 
Division of the corps. Soon the urgent message 
was flashed over the wires, while Sherman had the 
train backed quickly into the station. Near the 
platform was a small earth redoubt. The depot 
building itself was of brick, and had been punctured 
with loop holes; several hundred yards eastward 
was a square earthwork or fort, in which some of 
the regulars were stationed, with soldiers of the 
post already there. Other troops were distributed 
into the railroad cut, and in some rifle-trenches. 

Then, on a ridge to the southward, four hundred 
yards distant, a number of Confederate cavalry be- 
gan to appear, ominously forming there in a long 
line. To add to the excitement, two parties of horse- 
men came galloping along the tracks, one on each 
side of the railroad. Soon many of the cavalrymen 
were dismounting, preparing to assault; lines of 
skirmishers came running through a corn-field, and 
some artillery which the enemy had mysteriously 
brought into play began to operate on the little 
Union garrison. Sherman would have been justified 
in giving himself up for lost, so far as relieving 



150 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Rosecrans or Thomas was concerned. The Confed- 
erates greatly outnumbered his own force, and had 
advantages in position and artillery. But he handled 
the situation with rare tact and skill. He ordered 
his men to keep well under cover, and as they were 
practiced shots (having acquired that useful expe- 
rience when before Vicksburg) they succeeded in 
driving the cavalrymen back in the face of several 
dashing assaults. Once the enemy seized the train, 
and secured five horses, among them Sherman's 
favorite mare ; once, too, they set fire to the cars, 
but a sortie was made from the miniature fort, and 
the flames were extinguished. It would not have 
been long, however, before the besieged party must 
have surrendered, if help, thanks to that telegraph 
message, had not been at hand. After nearly four 
hours of fighting, the Confederates suddenly drew off 
and disappeared. General Corse's division, march- 
ing on double quick time, had come to the rescue. 
The next day Sherman resumed his journey. 

After reaching Corinth, he pushed forward, mak- 
ing railroad repairs on the way, until he received 
the following despatch (27th of October) : 

" Drop all work on Memphis and Charleston Rail- 
road, cross the Tennessee, and hurry eastward with 
all possible despatch toward Bridgeport, till you 
meet further orders from me. 

"U. S. Grant." 

Thereupon Sherman hastened to Bridgeport, and 
there received another telegram, as a result of which 
he reached Chattanooga, on the 14th of November 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 151 

and was warmly welcomed by Grant and Thomas. 
Many were the compliments which were paid him for 
his briskness in coming to the relief of the besieged 
army. The next morning Sherman walked out with 
Grant, and viewed from the defenses of the city, the 
grand panorama spread out before them. "All 
along Missionary Ridge were the tents of the rebel 
beleaguering force ; the lines of trenches from Look- 
out up toward the Chickamauga were plainly visible, 
and rebel sentinels, in a continuous chain, were walk- 
ing their posts in plain view, not a thousand yards 
off." 

Sherman turned to Grant. i ' Why, you are be- 
sieged!" he said. And Grant answered, stolidly 
but expressively, "Yes, it's too true." He added 
that the horses and mules of Thomas's army were 
almost starving, and that provisions had been so 
scarce that the men, "in hunger, stole the few 
grains of corn that were given to favorite horses." 
Grant also went on to say that General Bragg, at 
whose headquarters on Missionary Ridge they were 
now gazing, had detached Longstreet up into east 
Tennessee, to capture the Union forces under Gen- 
eral Burnside, who, having occupied Knoxville, was 
now in great danger. " I want your troops to take 
the offensive first," said the general, with emphasis. 
The situation was almost desperate ; he depended 
upon Sherman to help extricate him from the 
perilous position into which the force had been led 
by the blundering of Rosecrans. 

The ensuing battles of Chattanooga, Lookout 



152 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Mountain, and Missionary Ridge, have been suc- 
cinctly described as "parts of one single engage- 
ment, having for object to drive Bragg from the 
position he had chosen." l This was the plan of 
action : 

Sherman was to move up the Tennessee, on the 
north side, opposite Chattanooga, with four divi- 
sions ; cross, under cover of artillery, near the mouth 
of Chickamauga Creek, on a pontoon bridge ; and 
attack and capture the north end of Missionary 
Eidge. Thomas was to concentrate in Chattanooga 
Valley, while General Hooker was to patrol Look- 
out Valley, making a diversion to assist Sherman. 
Throughout the whole movement Grant showed 
what complete trust he placed in Sherman. 

General Sherman got his command over to the 
hills opposite the mouth of the Chickamauga by the 
23d of November, driving the Confederates from the 
north end of Missionary Ridge on the 24th, but 
found an obstacle in his way in the shape of a deep 
depression or gap. "I had inferred," he says 
in his report to Rawlins, "that Missionary Ridge 
was a continuous hill ; but we found ourselves on 
two high points, with a deep depression between 
us and the one immediately over the tunnel, which 
was my chief objective point. The ground we had 
gained, however, was so important that I could 
leave nothing to chance, and ordered it to be forti- 

1 See a " Bird's Eye View of Our Civil War " ; also consult 
the memoirs of Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, the several lives 
of General Thomas, etc. 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 153 

fied during the night. The enemy felt our left 
flank about 4 P. M. , and a pretty smart engagement 
with artillery and muskets ensued, when he drew 
off ; but it cost us dear, for General Giles A. Smith 
was severely wounded, and had to go to the rear. 
. . . As night closed in, I ordered General Jef- 
ferson C. Davis to keep one of his brigades at the 
bridge, one close up to my position, and one inter- 
mediate. Thus we passed the night, heavy details 
being kept busy at work on the entrenchments on 
the hill. During the night the sky cleared away 
bright, a cold frost filled the air, and our camp- 
fires revealed to the enemy and to our friends in 
Chattanooga our position on Missionary Ridge." 

At midnight Sherman received an order from 
Grant, directing him to attack the enemy at dawn 
with notice that General Thomas was to "attack 
in force early in the day." Accordingly Sherman 
was in the saddle before sunrise (November 25th), 
and attended by his staff, was preparing his brigades. 
As we have seen, a rather wide valley lay between his 
forces and the next hill of the series, and the farther 
point of this hill was held by the enemy with a breast- 
work of logs and fresh earth, occupied by men and 
two guns. The enemy was also seen in great force 
on a still higher hill beyond the tunnel. The sun 
had hardly risen when General Corse completed 
his preparations for his brigade to attack from the 
right centre, and his bugle was soon sounding that 
most inspiring of all calls to the brave soldier — " For- 
ward ! ? ' Other brigades were to aid him at the 



154 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

proper moment. Corse now quickly moved down 
the face of the hill held by the Union troops, and 
steadily, gallantly, up that held by the enemy, 
until he found and seized a secondary crest about 
eighty yards away from their intrenchments. 
Then came a stirring assault by the Federal 
battalions, a stubborn defense by the Confed- 
erates, but through the hour's fierce contest, Corse 
valiantly kept his original position. Another bri- 
gade was now gaining ground on the left spurs of Mis- 
sionary Ridge ; more troops were aiding from various 
directions ; Sherman was carefully directing every 
movement. 

About ten o'clock in the morning General Corse, 
receiving a severe wound, was taken from the field, 
and the command of the assault devolved on a young 
Colonel (Walcutt of the Forty- sixth Ohio) who 
" fulfilled his part manfully," pressed forward, and 
was later joined by energetic reinforcements. The 
enemy, being massed in great strength in the tunnel - 
gorge, suddenly appeared on the right rear of the 
new troops, who, exposed as they were in the open 
field, fell back in disorder, but soon reformed. The 
real attacking columns were not repulsed. They 
struggled heroically throughout the better part of 
the day. 

" Thus matters stood," officially reports Sherman, 
1 ' about 3 p. m. The day was bright and clear, and the 
amphitheatre at Chattanooga lay in beauty at our 
feet. . . . Column after column of the enemy 
was streaming toward me : gun after gun poured its 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 155 

concentric shot on ns, from every hill and spur that 
gave a view of any part of the ground held by us. 
An occasional shot from Fort Wood and Orchard 
Knoll, and some musketry-fire and artillery over 
about Lookout Mountain, was all that I could detect 
on our side ; but about 3 p. m. I noticed the white 
line of musketry-fire in front of Orchard Knoll, ex- 
tending farther and farther right and left and on. 
We could only hear a faint echo of sound, but 
enough was seen to satisfy me that General Thomas 
was at last moving on the centre. I knew that our 
attack had drawn vast masses of the enemy to our 
flank, and felt sure of the result. Some guns which 
had been firing on us all day were silent, or were 
turned in a different direction. The advancing line 
of musketry-fire from Orchard Knoll disappeared to 
us behind a spur of the hill, and could no longer be 
seen ; and it was not until night closed in that I 
knew that the troops in Chattanooga had swept 
across Missionary Ridge, and broken the enemy's 
centre. Of course the victory was won." 

Sherman found that he had indeed borne a 
victor's share in the great three-sided battle which 
caused the retreat of Bragg and the raising of the 
siege of Chattanooga. Grant's strategy had pre- 
vailed. On the 24th of November Thomas, making 
a forcible movement in Chattanooga Valley, had 
advanced his line, while General Hooker had fought 
the " Battle above the Clouds," on Lookout Moun- 
tain. On the following day Hooker operated to- 
ward Rossville, on Bragg' s left, while the Army of 



156 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

the Cumberland, under Thomas, made a magnificent 
onslaught on the enemy's works at the foot of Mis- 
sionary Ridge. These works were captured in a 
bayonet struggle full of grim determination and en- 
thusiasm. Then the troops ' l press gallantly on up 
the ridge in full view of both armies, with deafen- 
ing cheers, heedless of the deadly fire belched into 
their very faces, and overrun the works at the sum- 
mit like a torrent, capturing thirty-five guns, and 
prisoners wholesale. 7 ' 

Sherman was delighted at the outcome of the bat- 
tle, and none the less so because Grant was entitled 
to the credit of its management. " It was magnifi- 
cent," he afterward said, "in its conception, in its 
execution, and in its glorious results ; hastened 
somewhat by the supposed danger of Burnside, at 
Knoxville, yet so completely successful, that noth- 
ing is left for cavil or fault-finding." 

It should be noted that General " Phil " Sheridan, 
whom Sherman always admired, played a con- 
spicuous part in the battle of Missionary Ridge. 
These two soldiers, however, were destined not to see 
much more of each other during the war. Sheridan 
was soon to be assigned to cavalry work in Virginia. 

Sherman had little time for exultation. On the 
evening of the battle General Grant wrote him : 
" ~No doubt you witnessed the handsome manner in 
which Thomas's troops carried Missionary Ridge this 
afternoon, and can feel a just pride, too, in the part 
taken by the forces under your command in taking 
first so much of the same range of hills, and then in 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 157 

attracting the attention of so many of the enemy as 
to make Thomas's part certain of success. The next 
thing now will be to relieve Burnside. I have heard 
from him to the evening of the 23d. At that time he 
had from ten to twelve days' supplies, and spoke 
hopefully of holding out that length of time." 

Without detailing the movement of troops neces- 
sitated by the retreat of Bragg' s army, or the 
besieging of Burnside at Knoxville by Longstreet, we 
can simply chronicle that when Sherman, in response 
to urgent orders, rode into that city on the morning 
of December 6th, he found that General Longstreet 
had raised the siege, and started in retreat up the 
valley, toward Virginia. He was rather pleasantly 
surprised by the comfortable appearance of things 
within the place, and particularly by the elaborate 
dinner, including roast turkey, to which Burnside 
treated him and the members of his staff. ' ' Why, 
I thought you were starving, ' ' he remarked, inter- 
rogatively. 

Burnside explained that at no time had Knoxville 
been " completely invested," and that he had been 
able to keep open his communications with the 
country on the south side of the Eiver Holston (on 
which Knoxville is situated), "more especially 
with the French Broad settlements, from whose 
Union inhabitants he had received a good supply 
of beef, bacon and corn meal." 

" Had I known of this," observes Sherman in his 
" Memoirs," "I should not have hurried my men so 
fast ; but until I reached Knoxville I thought our 



158 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAK 

troops there were actually in danger of starvation." 
Having now supplied Burnside with such troops as 
he needed (the corps of General Granger) Sherman, 
with his other forces, began a leisurely return to 
Chattanooga. After reaching there on December 
16th, and making certain dispositions and changes 
in his command, the Department of the Tennessee, 
he took a hasty trip to Lancaster, O., where he 
had the unusual experience of spending Christmas 
at home with his family. 

To his brother John, who was then in Washing- 
ton, Sherman wrote an interesting note, show- 
ing that he was by no means puffed up over the 
increased fame which his exploits at the battle of 
Chattanooga had given him, and that he knew a 
general's reputation is never safe until a war is 
actually ended. "I have been importuned from 
many quarters for my likeness, autographs, and bi- 
ographies. I have managed to fend off all parties, 
and hope to do so till the end of the war. I don't 
want to rise or be notorious, for the reason that a 
mere slip or accident may let me fall, and I don't 
care about falling so far as most of the temporary 
heroes of the war. The real men of the war will be 
determined by the closing scenes, and then the army 
will determine the questions. Newspaper puffs and 
self- written biographies will then be ridiculous cari- 
catures." 

But Sherman, whether he would or not, was now 
a full-fledged war hero, nor is it likely that the odor 
of incense was altogether ungrateful to him. One 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 159 

must indeed be a stoic to turn away altogether from 
the delights of sincere praise. And then how com- 
pletely did all this dissipate that once exasperating 
rumor of u insanity " and "-nervous breakdown " ! 

One tribute greatly pleased Sherman. That was 
a joint resolution of Congress, passed a little later 
(February 19, 1864), tendering the thanks of that 
body — which was not always so complimentary con- 
cerning war matters — to the general and the officers 
and men who served under him, ' ' for their gallant 
and arduous services in marching to the relief of the 
Army of the Cumberland, and for their gallantry 
and heroism in the battle of Chattanooga, which 
contributed in a great degree to the success of our 
arms in that glorious victory." 

Sherman, little as he knew it, had only begun to 
taste the rewards of fame. Greater work than ever 
was in store for him. In the meantime he returned 
south from Ohio, about New Year's of 1864, and 
achieved an incidental tour de force by capturing 
Meridian, in eastern Mississippi, destroying the rail- 
roads which centred there, and doing as much mis- 
chief as possible, in view of such Union campaigning 
as was to follow. This movement, or raid, was ac- 
complished in February, and was a forerunner of 
mighty military events in the more southern depart- 
ment of the conflict. 

Before closing the chapter, and proceeding to a 
discussion of the Atlanta campaign, let us recall two 
letters which now form part of history, but which, 
when written, were quite spontaneous, and marked 



160 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

' ' confidential. ' ' One was a letter from Grant (dated 
March 4, 1864), announcing that he had been nomi- 
nated to fill the revived grade of lieutenant-general 
of the army, and generously thanking Sherman for 
previous assistance and co-operation. u What I 
want," says Grant, " is to express my thanks to you 
and McPherson, as the men to whom, above all oth- 
ers, I feel indebted for whatever I have had of 
success." 

In view of future events, and because of its char- 
acteristic vein of frankness, Sherman's reply is 
worth quoting in part : 

u Dear General: — I have your more than kind 
and characteristic letter of the 4th, and will send a 
copy of it to General McPherson at once. You do 
yourself injustice and us too much honor in assign- 
ing to us so large a share of the merits which have 
led to your high advancement. . . . 

u You are now Washington's legitimate successor, 
and occupy a position of almost dangerous elevation ; 
but if you can continue, as heretofore, to be your- 
self, simple, honest, and unpretending, you will en- 
joy through life the respect and love of friends, and 
the homage of millions of human beings who will 
award to you a large share for securing to them and 
their descendants a government of law and stability. ! 



1 ' My only points of doubt were as to your knowl- 
edge of grand strategy, and of books of science and 

1 In this sentence one may easily fancy a warning to Grant 
not to yield, when the war was over, to the blandishments 
of political office. But in this respect Grant was destined to 
laok the wisdom of his great colleague. 



SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS 161 

history ; but I confess your common sense seems to 
have supplied all this. 

11 Now as to the future. Do not stay in Washing- 
ton. Halleck is better qualified than you are to 
stand the buffets of intrigue and policy. Come out 
west ; take to yourself the whole Mississippi Val- 
ley ; let us make it dead -sure, and I tell you the At- 
lantic slope and Pacific shores will follow its destiny 
as sure as the limbs of a tree live or die with the 
main trunk ! We have done much ; still much re- 
mains to be done. Time and time's influences are 
all with us ; we could almost afford to sit still and 
let these influences work. Even in the seceded 
states your word now would go further than a Presi- 
dent's proclamation, or an act of Congress. 

"For God's sake, and for your country's sake, 
come out of Washington ! I foretold to General 
Halleck, before he left Corinth, the inevitable result 
to him, and I now exhort you to come out west. 
Here lies the seat of the coming empire ; and from 
the west, when our task is done, we will make short 
work of Charleston and Eichmond, and the impov- 
erished coast of the Atlantic. 

" Your sincere friend, 

"W. T. Sherman." 

Fortunately for himself and his country Grant had 
the good sense to " come out of Washington " and, 
with the aid of Sherman, now set about the mighty 
task of ending the war. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 

" Bring the good old bugle, boys ! we'll sing another song, 
Sing it with a spirit that will move the world along — 
Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong, 
While we were marching through Georgia ! 

44 ' Hurrah ! Hurrah ! We bring the jubilee ! 

Hurrah ! Hurrah ! the flag that makes you free ! ' 
So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea, 
While we were marching through Georgia. 

" How the darkies shouted when they heard the joyful 
sound ! 
How the turkeys gobbled which our commissary found ! 
How the sweet potatoes even started from the ground, 
When we were marching through Georgia ! ' ' 

This war classic, wherein cheap doggerel was 
joined to one of the most inspiring military tunes 
ever written, and which once thrilled the hearts of 
thousands and thousands of people, is now but an 
echo of Sherman's greatest movement, the begin- 
ning of which is to be found in what is known as 
the Atlanta Campaign. 

To explain the object of this campaign let us be- 
gin with the fact that on the 12th of March, 1864, 
Lieutenant- General Grant was placed in command 
of all the armies of the United States. A few days 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 163 

later, at Nashville, Sherman assumed command of 
the Military Division of the Mississippi, in place of 
Grant ; General McPherson succeeded to the com- 
mand of the Army of the Tennessee ; and John A. 
Logan was placed at the head of McPherson' s corps. 
The Military Division of the Mississippi had em- 
braced the Armies of the Cumberland, Tennessee, 
Ohio and Arkansas. Subsequently the Army of the 
Arkansas was transferred to the Military Division 
of the Gulf, under General Canby, and after that 
transfer Sherman got his own Division of the Mis- 
sissippi organized about as follows : 

Men 
Army of the Cumberland (General Thomas) .... 60,700 
Army of the Tennessee (General McPherson) . . . 24,400 
Army of the Ohio (General Schofield) 13,500 



Total 98,600 

When Grant took command of all the armies, 
wisely resolving to keep the field, and not to stay 
among the politicians in Washington, he thus 
summed up the military situation : The United 
States held the Mississippi Eiver all the way to its 
mouth, and the line of the Arkansas, thus possess- 
ing all of the northwest above the latter river. 
The Union also controlled several points in Louis- 
iana ; the mouth of the Eio Grande ; that part of 
the country east of the Mississippi which was north 
of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, as far east 
as Chattanooga ; thence along the line of the rivers 
Tennessee and Holston, comprising most of the 



164 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

state of Tennessee; also West Virginia and old 
Virginia north of the Rapidan and east of the Blue 
Ridge ; together with various points on the Atlantic 
seaboard, including Fortress Monroe, Norfolk, Beau- 
fort, New Berne, Port Royal, Saint Augustine, Key 
West and Pensacola. "The balance of the South- 
ern territory, an empire in extent, was still in the 
hands of the enemy." 

In the east, as Grant relates in his "Memoirs," the 
opposing forces " stood in substantially the same re- 
lations toward each other as three years before, or 
when the war began ; they were both between the 
Federal and Confederate capitals. It is true, foot- 
holds had been secured by us on the seacoast, in 
Virginia and North Carolina, but beyond that, no 
substantial advantage had been gained by either 
side." That portion of the Army of the Potomac 
not guarding lines of communication was on the 
north bank of the Rapidan ; on the opposite bank, 
strongly entrenched, was the obstinate Lee, with his 
faithful Army of Northern Virginia acting as a 
watchdog against all who would invade the sacred 
precincts of Richmond — where Jefferson Davis still 
hoped that he would save the Confederacy by virtue 
of his "military genius." 

The Union armies at this time were divided into 
nineteen departments while the Army of the Po- 
tomac was an entirely separate command, without 
limit as to operating territory. Heretofore these 
various armies had acted independently of one an- 
other, not always with the best results. "I deter- 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 165 

mined to stop this," says General Grant. u To this 
end I regarded the Army of the Potomac as the 
centre, and all west of Memphis along the line de- 
scribed as our position at the time, and north of it, 
the right wing ; the Army of the James, under Gen- 
eral Butler, as the left wing, and all the troops 
south, as a force in the rear of the enemy. 1 . . . 
My general plan now was to concentrate all the force 
possible against the Confederate armies in the field." 
There were two such, east of the Mississippi Eiver, 
and facing north — Lee's Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, on the south bank of the Rapidan, and the 
army under Joseph E. Johnston, at Dalton, Georgia, 
opposed to Sherman, who by this time was remov- 
ing his headquarters to Chattanooga. 

Furthermore, the Confederates were obliged to 
guard the Shenandoah Valley, "a great storehouse 
from which to feed their armies," and also their lines 
of communication from their capital, Richmond, to 
Tennessee. Forrest, the dashing cavalry general, was 
also operating in the west, making things unpleas- 
ant for the Union forces in the Tennessee district. 

" Accordingly I arranged for a simultaneous move- 
ment all along the line," Grant continues. " Sher- 
man was to move from Chattanooga, Johnston's 
army and Atlanta being his objective points." 
Then follows an outline of the proposed movement 



1 Toward the close of the year, 1863, General Butler was placed 
in command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina, 
and his force was afterward designated as the Army of the 
James. 



166 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

of the other armies, with the explanation : ' l They 
were acting as a unit so far as such a thing was pos- 
sible over such a vast field. Lee, with the capital 
of the Confederacy, was the main end to which all 
were working. Johnston, with Atlanta, was an 
important obstacle in the way of our accomplish- 
ing the result aimed at, and was therefore almost 
an independent objective." And Grant had writ- 
ten to Sherman, apropos of this grand campaign : 
"You I propose to move against Johnston's army, 
to break it up, and to get into the interior of the 
enemy's country as far as you can, inflicting all the 
damage you can against their war resources." To 
Sherman himself the lieutenant-general left the 
actual plan of the Atlanta campaign, and on Sher- 
man, therefore, in the end, devolved all the greater 
honor. In brief, Grant's comprehensive scheme 
was to make a general advance of all the armies 
during the first week in May. He was to move on 
Eichmond, via Lee, while Sherman would attend 
to Johnston and Atlanta. 

We will leave Grant, with his sending off of sup- 
porting expeditions, his preliminary set-back in the 
campaign, when he tried the " hammering" proc- 
ess, the failure of the Banks expedition on the 
Eed Eiver, the retreat of Sigel, the slaughter in 
the Wilderness, and other discouragements, and 
turn to the movement against Atlanta. The picture 
is a less sombre one, although full of battle atmos- 
phere. 

Twelve hours after Grant had crossed the Eapidan 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 167 

(May 4th) Sherman began the movement of his 
three armies, the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the 
Tennessee, toward the intended goal. He had with 
him nearly a hundred thousand men (exclusive of 
some uncompleted divisions of cavalry) and 254 
guns. His personal escort comprised his staff, half 
a dozen wagons, a company of sharpshooters and a 
small band of irregular cavalry. The general's 
camp equipment, although hardly placed upon the 
famous "nightshirt and toothbrush" basis of 
simplicity, was made as unluxurious as possible. 
"I wanted," says Sherman, "to set the example, 
and gradually to convert all parts of that army into 
a mobile machine, willing and able to start at a 
minute's notice, and to subsist on the scantiest 
food. To reap absolute success might involve the 
necessity even of dropping all wagons, and to sub- 
sist on the chance food which the country was 
known to contain." 

Sherman had accumulated an abundance of 
supplies, sufficient to warrant a movement south 
before leaving Chattanooga ; but he was deter- 
mined to take no chances, and to be ready for the 
worst. The wagons allotted to each brigade were 
restricted to the carrying of food, ammunition and 
absolutely necessary clothing. Wall-tents were for- 
bidden, save for the sick and wounded, but "tent- 
flies," without poles, were allowed. Thomas, un- 
like the other generals, had a conventional "head 
quarters-camp" over which Sherman frequently 
joked him, as well as a big wagon that could 



168 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

be converted into an office, which the men used 
to call " Thomas's Circus." Sherman tells us that 
several times during the campaign he found 
quartermasters hid away in some comfortable nook 
at the rear, with tents and mess-fixtures, which 
" were the envy of the passing soldiers" ; and he 
frequently broke them up, and sent the tents to the 
surgeons of brigades. " I doubt," he says, "if any 
army ever went forth to battle with fewer impedi- 
menta, and, where the regular and necessary sup- 
plies of food, ammunition, and clothing were 
issued, as called for, so regularly and so 
well." 

Nor must we forget that one of the great features 
of the march proved to be the fact that Sherman, 
advancing through a hostile country, was able to 
keep open his line of railroad communication to 
the north. It was a difficult undertaking ; tracks 
must often be relaid, and bridges rebuilt, not to 
mention the dangers of a purely military kind. 
The problem of securing a sufficient number of cars 
had already given him much trouble, but he had 
been equal to the situation. 

Against Sherman, General Johnston had at first 
some 43,000 effectives, and this number was shortly 
to be increased during May, by the addition of 
22,000 men. The Southern army, being upon the 
defensive and operating on interior lines was, by 
all rules of war, equal to its assailant. " This ratio 
was substantially maintained during the campaign 
ending with the fall of Atlanta ; hence it will be 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 169 

seen that the Federals had no material advantage 
over the enemy." l 

Johnston, who was well entrenched in front of 
Dalton, about forty miles southeast of Chattanooga, 
had been strongly urged by Jefferson Davis since 
the preceding December to assume an aggressive 
winter campaign. This plan, favored by Lee, had 
provided, among other things, for the turning of 
Thomas's position at Chattanooga by a move to the 
eastward of it and a junction with Longstreet for a 
dash into middle Tennessee. Johnston, who was 
undoubtedly stronger in defensive than offensive 
tactics, did not approve of the plan, and after con- 
siderable correspondence (which did not serve to 
decrease the strained relations known to exist be- 
tween Davis and himself) the matter ended in his 
being at Dalton when Sherman began his advance. 
The Confederate general, however, sent an officer to 
Eichmond for the purpose of explaining to Mr. 
Davis that he had not declined to assume the of- 
fensive, as was charged, but, on the contrary, was 
eager to move forward whenever the relative forces 
of the opposing armies should justify him in such 
a measure. This emissary was to illustrate (so 
Johnston himself tells us) the difference between his 
plan of operations and that advocated by the Con- 
federate government; "and in that connection to 
explain that I had been actively engaged in prepar- 
ations to take the field — those over which I had con- 

1 "Marching Through Georgia," p. 85. Hedley estimates 
that Johnston's army finally aggregated 70,000 effectives. 



170 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

trol being in a satisfactory state of forwardness. 
But that in the important element of field transporta- 
tion . . . which I had neither means nor 
authority to collect, nothing had been done, while 
steps to collect the large number of artillery horses 
necessary had just been taken ; and that the surest 
means of enabling us to go forward was to send the 
proposed reinforcements to Dalton at once ; then, 
hould the enemy take the initiative, as was al- 
most certain, we might defeat him on this side of 
the Tennessee, where the consequences of defeat 
would be so much more disastrous to the enemy 
and less so to us, than if the battle were fought 
north of that river." ' 

There is no need to enter into the rights and 
wrongs of this controversy, although the first im- 
pulse always is to side with Johnston, rather than 
with Davis, who was not the Napoleon that he was 
prone to consider himself. " On several occasions 
during the war," wrote General Grant, satirically, 
"Mr. Davis came to the relief of the Union army 
by means of his superior military genius. 11 It is 
sufficient for our purpose to know that General 
Johnston was still at Dalton early in May. 

Sherman began to push forward for that place. 
The direct route there was impracticable, and lay 

1 See Johnston's ' ' Narrative of Military Operations. Directed 
During the Late War Between the States'." In his " Rise and 
Fall of the Confederate Government," Jefferson Davis writes : 
' ' To enable General Johnston to repulse the hostile advance 
and assume the offensive, no effort was spared on the part of 
the government " (Vol. II, p. 551). 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 171 

through the pass of Buzzard's Eoost, issuing 
through Rocky Face, a spur of the Alleghany 
Mountains. The Army of the Cumberland, under 
Thomas, occupied the northern end of this pass, 
aided by the Twenty -third Corps under Schofield ; 
while McPherson, with the Army of the Tennessee, 
entered upon a series of flanking movements. 
These movements brought him in front of Resaca 
(fifteen miles to the south of Dalton), then 
occupied by a small brigade of Johnston's forces 
(May 9th). The enemy seemed so well entrenched, 
here, however, that McPherson fell back three 
miles to the mouth of Snake Creek Gap. Sherman 
afterward declared that his general had not done 
the full measure of his work, and might have 
' ' walked into ' ' Resaca. ' l Had he done so, I am 
certain that Johnston would not have ventured to 
attack him in position, but would have retreated 
eastward by Spring Place, and we should have cap- 
tured half his army and all his artillery and wagons 
at the very beginning of the campaign. Such an 
opportunity does not occur twice in a single life, 
but at the critical moment McPherson seems to have 
been a little timid. Still, he was perfectly justified 
by his orders. ' ' 

The failure of McPherson' s movement — which 
thus brought forth the only adverse criticism 
Sherman ever made of this fine officer — caused 
a change of plans. Sherman concentrated his 
forces and advanced against Resaca, where Johns- 
ton, having suddenly abandoned his admirable 



172 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

defenses at Dalton, had strongly entrenched himself 
with the major part of his force. The rival armies 
now faced each other, and in the battling and skir- 
mishing which followed, McPherson, as if anxious 
to make amends for being ' ' a little timid, ' ' played 
a gallant part. On the 15th, the Union troops 
obstinately pressed around the town from all points, 
while 1 1 the sound of cannon and musketry rose all 
day to the dignity of a battle." Late in the after- 
noon McPherson got his line of battle forward to a 
ridge overlooking Eesaca, from which his field 
artillery commanded a railroad bridge across the 
Oostenaula Eiver, running past the town. The 
Confederates made several brave sallies in their at- 
tempt to drive him away from this place of vantage, 
but were each time repulsed with heavy loss. 

Johnston, seeing that his lines of communication 
were threatened and that further occupation of 
Eesaca would put his army in peril, quickly got his 
men out of the place that night and retreated across 
the Oostenaula, burning his bridges behind him. 
He was a great defensive general, but already Sher- 
man was threatening to beat him on his own ground. 
As a military expert has pointed out, Sherman's 
tactics during this great campaign, though varied, 
of course, in the matter of detail, uniformly con- 
sisted in forcing the centre of his army upon Johns- 
ton' s lines, while with the right and left he operated 
upon either flank as chance or ground best offered. 

The abandonment of Dalton and Eesaca was 
sharply criticised at Eichmond, and did not tend to 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 173 

increase President Davis's love for Johnston. But 
the latter has well explained in his ' ' Narrative of 
Military Operations," that he was compelled to 
evacuate Dal ton 1 1 by the march of the Federal 
army itself toward Resaca — that march being com- 
pletely covered by the mountain, Rocky Face. 
And at Resaca, after intrenching his army so 
strongly as to make it secure from assault, General 
Sherman availed himself of the course of the 
Oostenaula, almost parallel to our railroad, to ex- 
tend his line, protected by it, to the neighborhood 
of Calhoun, which compelled us to pass to the rear 
of that point, to avoid being cut off from Atlanta." 

It is idle to speculate as to what some other South- 
ern general, Lee, for instance, might have done had 
he been in Johnston's place. A genius might have 
entrapped Sherman, far away in the enemy's coun- 
try, into the surrender of his whole army. Johns- 
ton was not a genius. He failed, however, in a 
masterly way. " It was the cleanest and best-con- 
ducted retreat that we had seen or read of," 1 wrote 
General Hooker, who served as one of Sherman's 
corps commanders. Quite aside from the griev- 
ances which Johnston had against the Confederate 
government, it is fair to say, however, that he was 
completely outgeneraled by his great antagonist. 

We have some curious side-lights on the history 
of this campaign from Captain David P. Conyng- 

'The quotation is taken from a very interesting letter, in 
praise of Johnston, which Hooker wrote to General Lovell, 
dated October 21, 1873. 



174 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

ham. who served through it as a voluuteer 
aide-de-camp aud also as a correspondent of the 
New York Herald. Conyngham was no hero-wor- 
shiper, but he had a great admiration for the mili- 
tary powers of General Sherman, as he shows in his 
series of entertaining pen -pictures entitled " Sher- 
man's March Through the South," published several 
months after the close of the war. The glimpses 
of Sherman himself which he gives us seem lifelike 
portraits, because they have the real human touch, 
devoid of fustian and l k spread-eagleism." Here is a 
description of a scene which occurred while the in- 
vading army was in front of the Eocky Face Moun- 
tain. The different corps and division commanders 
had their headquarters contiguous to their com- 
mands. Major-General Howard, in charge of the 
Fourth Corps, had his unassuming quarters un- 
der fire of the Confederates' long-range guns. 
" Several shots fell quite near, creating some com- 
motion in the camp, but without disturbing Howard 
in the least." One day, Sherman called at How- 
ard's quarters, only to be received, as he sat down 
to wait for the general, with the bursting of two of 
Johnston's shells too near for absolute safety. 

Sherman, in his nervous, fidgetty way, was walk- 
ing about when he saw Howard riding toward him. 
As the latter reined up at headquarters he cried : 
"I say, Howard, do you know, but you are the 
politest man in the army ? " 

"Indeed, I wasn't aware of that, general," ob- 
served Howard. 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 175 

"Well, it's true! Here I am, in your absence, 
and though you were not here to receive me, I have 
got the warmest reception I have experienced for a 
long time." 

"Why, general, you need not thank me for it, 
but General Johnston," answered Howard; "his 
compliments were so overpowering that one of 
them came near killing me," and he pointed to his 
pantaloons, torn by a bullet. 

General Thomas's headquarters, so Conyngham 
tells us, comprised a "gorgeous outlay of tents of 
all kinds." Every officer had a tent, "almost 
every servant had a tent, while the adj utant- gen- 
eral's was a sort of open rebellion against all 
restrictory orders." Sherman, on the contrary, 
' ' had but one old wall tent, and some three or 
four ' flies' for his quarters." He "could never 
let slip an opportunity to pass a joke at Thomas's 
expense," and would frequently rein up his horse 
in front of the latter' s tent, and ask, in apparent 
ignorance, "Whose quarters are these?" 

"General Thomas's, general," would be the 
quick reply. 

"Oh, yes; Thomastown; Thomasville; a very 
pretty place, indeed ; it appears to be growing 
rapidly" — and Sherman would ride away, chuck- 
ling at his own humor. 

After McPherson fell back from Eesaca, we have 
a picture of Sherman as he rode up the valley to 
the front. * ' He was anxious and nervous, as was 
evident from the fierce manner in which he pulled 



176 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

at Lis unlit cigar, and twitched that strange, coarse 
face of his." His ride through the lines created 
no enthusiasm ; his old corps, the Fifteenth, alone 
brightened up when they saw "Uncle Billy," as 
they fondly called him. " Sherman was, at all 
times, too cold and undemonstrative for the men to 
love him. They had unbounded confidence in him 
and believed whatever he did was right, and that 
was all. McPherson by his noble bearing and 
dashing appearance, Hooker by his fine martial 
presence and princely air, Logan by his dashing, 
kind manner, might create enthusiasm among 
troops, but Sherman, or Thomas, never !" 

The night before, Sherman had remained up a 
long time, maturing the plans for his operations 
against Eesaca. The next morning, feeling very 
tired, he sat on a log, under the shade of a tree, 
and soon tumbled off on the ground, fast asleep. 
The soldiers went marching by the prostrate com- 
mander, whom few of them recognized. 

"Is that a general?" asked one of the men, in 
amazement, of the single orderly who stood near 
Sherman. 

" Yes," was the response. 

"It's a pretty way we are commanded, when our 
generals are lying drunk on the road," exclaimed 
the soldier, as he walked away in disgust. 

Sherman suddenly leaped to his feet. "Stop, 
my man," he said — for he had evidently been 
sleeping with one ear open — "stop, my man! I 
am not drunk. While you were sleeping last 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 177 

night I was planning for yon, sir, and now I was 
taking a nap. General Sherman never gets drunk ! ' ' 

The soldier was only too glad to slink away. 

Another writer, Colonel (then Major) George 
Ward Nichols, who was one of Sherman's aides-de- 
camp, has emphasized the combination of bravery 
and simplicity which so many observed in Sher- 
man during his campaign. "When sounds of 
musketry or cannonading reach his ears the general 
is extremely restless until he has been satisfied as 
to the origin, location, and probable results of the 
fight in progress. At such moments he usually 
lights a fresh cigar, and smokes while walking to 
and fro, stopping now and then to listen to the 
increasing rattle of musketry ; then, muttering, 
c Forward !' will mount 'Old Sam,' a horribly fast 
walking horse, which is as indifferent to shot and 
shell as his master, and starts off in the direction 
of the fire. Dismounting near the battle line, he 
will stride away into the woods, or to the edge of a 
creek or swamp, until some officer, fearful of the 
consequences, respectfully warns him that he is in 
a dangerous position, when, perhaps, he retires." * 

During this campaign we get another glimpse, a 
serio-comic one, of Sherman's contempt for dan- 
ger. One afternoon he paid a visit to General 
Hooker, who had pitched his headquarters in a 
place so admirably exposed to the fire of the enemy 
that one might have thought he was seeking 

1 Nichols, " The Story of the Great March, from the Diary of 
a Staff Officer." 



178 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAJST 

destruction. The two generals seated themselves 
placidly, "with their feet against the trees, watch- 
ing the operations immediately in front of them." 
What is more, they were in full view of the Con- 
federates. Very soon a shell shrieked right over 
their heads, making the crockery on the dinner- 
table rattle like mad, and nearly frightening to 
death the negro cook, Sambo — who later excused 
himself on the ground that a fellow darky 
had been killed the night before by "one o' 
dem tings." Another shell quickly followed, de- 
molishing a chair recently vacated by an officer, 
and all the time rifle-bullets went "singing and 
fizzing " about merrily, as they crashed through 
the leaves and branches of neighboring trees. The 
staff-officers of the respective generals did not find 
this leaden rain very amusing, nor was their cheer- 
fulness increased by the whistling of a new shell — 
but they could not move while Sherman and 
Hooker sat calmly in the open, discussing military 
questions with as much nonchalance as if they were 
dining at Delmonico's, in New York. It must have 
been hard to appear at ease under such trying 
circumstances, but the staff officers could not do 
less than imitate, if they could not feel, the in- 
difference of the two chiefs. At last the sun went 
down, whereupon Sherman condescended to take 
leave of General Hooker, much to the relief of 
every one. ' 

1 General Sherman asserts that he never needlessly goes under 
fire, and that he calculates all the chances, avoiding useless ex- 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 179 

"The general's habits of life," further writes 
Colonel Nichols, of Sherman at this period, " are 
simple. Primitive, almost as first principles, his 
greatest sacrifice will be made when he resigns 
campaigning for a more civilized life. He has a 
keen sense of the beauty of nature, and never is 
happier than when his camp is pitched in some 
forest of lofty pines, where the wind sings through 
the tree-tops in melodious measure, and the feet are 
buried in the soft carpeting of spindles. He is the 
last one to complain when the table-fare is reduced 
to beef and hard-tack, and, in truth, he rather 
enjoys poverty of food, as one of the conditions of 
a soldier's life." 

After General Johnston had abandoned Resaca 
and Sherman's troops had marched into the town, 
the latter began a pursuit of the Confederates, who 
were now retreating, in admirable order, to the 
southward. Johnston, when he reached Cassville, 
entrenched himself and issued orders for a battle. 
But there was some friction, or difference of 
opinion, between him and several of his officers, 
and he withdrew from the place, to continue the 
retreat. Johnston tells us that two of his com- 
manders, Generals Hood and Polk, urged him, for 
military reasons, to abandon the ground at once, 
and cross the Etowah River, to the south. " Al- 
though the position was the best we had occupied," 
he says, "I yielded at last, in the belief that the 

posure, which is undoubtedly true. Mais, as the French say. — 
"Story of the Great March." 



180 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

confidence of the commanders of two of the three 
corps of the army, of their inability to resist 
the enemy, would inevitably be communicated to 
their troops, and produce that inability. ' ' 

This conference afterward gave rise to a particu- 
larly acid controversy, and none the less so because 
the South, wincing as it was from the evacuation of 
Dalton and Eesaca, had expected Johnston to do 
something brilliant and aggressive at Cassville. 
Five years after the war General Hood gave his 
own version of the affair to Sherman. He said he 
had argued with Johnston against fighting the 
battle " purely on the defensive," but had asked 
the general to " permit him, with his own corps 
and part of Polk's, to quit their lines, and march 
rapidly to attack and overwhelm Schofield, who 
was known to be separated from Thomas by an 
interval of nearly five miles, claiming that he could 
have defeated Schofield, and got back to his posi- 
tion in time to meet General Thomas's attack in 
front." He had contended, he added, for the 
" offensive- defensive game," instead of the "pure 
defensive," as proposed by General Johnston; and 
it "was at this time that General Johnston had 
taken offense, and for this reason had ordered the 
retreat." l 

It would be idle to attempt to settle the merits of 
this controversy, which will doubtless have advo- 
cates on either side a century from now. Sherman 
entered Cassville on the morning of May 20th, and 
1 See Sherman's ''Memoirs," Vol. II, p. 41. 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 181 

found there many signs of preparation for a grand 
battle, among them a line of fresh entrenchments 
on a hill beyond the town, extending nearly three 
miles to the south. Whereupon there was more 
gloom in Richmond, and more unkind thinking by 
Mr. Davis and his advisers. But Johnston still 
had warm friends who said, with a knowing air : 
"The general is a great strategist. Wait a little 
while, and you will see — what you will see ! He 
is quietly, skilfully drawing Sherman farther and 
farther into a trap, farther and farther away from 
Northern aid, and in due season you will see Johns- 
ton turn, like a wary tiger, and crush the Union 
army !" 

On the very day that General Sherman's forces 
occupied Cassville, he wrote from Kingston, near by, 
to his brother John: "I now have full posses- 
sion of all the rich country of the Etowah. We 
occupy Rome, Kingston and Cassville. I have re- 
paired the railroad [torn up by the enemy] to these 
points, and now have ordered the essential supplies 
forward to replenish our wagons, when I will make 
for Atlanta, fifty -nine miles from here, and about 
fifty from the advance. Johnston has halted across 
the Etowah at a place called Allatoona, where the 
railroad and common road pass through a spur of the 
mountain, making one of those formidable passes 
which gives an army on the defensive so much 
advantage, but I propose to cross the Etowah here, 
and to go for Marietta via Dallas (Ga.). Look at 



182 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

your map, and you will see the move. l . . . Put 
forth the whole strength of the nation now, and if 
we can't whip the South we must bow our necks in 
patient submission. Grant surely is fighting hard 
enough, and I think this army will make its mark." 

A little later Sherman writes, illustrative of the 
difficulties which Nature is putting in his way, as 
if she were in league with the Southland : ' ' My 
long and single line of railroad to my rear, of 
limited capacity, is the delicate point of my game, 
as also the fact that all of Georgia, except the 
cleared bottoms, is densely wooded, with few roads, 
and at any point an enterprising enemy can, in a 
few hours with axes and spades, make across our 
path formidable works, whilst his sharpshooters, 
spies, and scouts, in the guise of peaceable farmers, 
can hang around us and kill our wagonmen, mes- 
sengers and couriers. It is a big Indian war. 1 '' 

There is no doubt that as Sherman continued the 
pursuit from Cassville he was severely hampered, 
although not fatally so, by the roughness of the 
country. Before reaching Rome, as we learn from 
the graphic narrative in " Marching Through 
Georgia," much of the route was terribly moun- 
tainous and hard to traverse. Sand Mountain, in 
reality a succession of mountains of no great alti- 
tude, but very steep, proved particularly danger- 
ous. In the sides of these huge hills a road had 

1 The Etowah is a river of Georgia which rises in Lumpkin 
County and, after a course of about 150 miles, finally unites 
with the Oostenaula River, at Rome, to form the Coosa. 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 183 

been cut, so narrow that only one team could creep 
cautiously along it. " A sudden pitch sidewise, or 
a rough jolt against one of the many huge boulders 
which lay in the roadway, was sufficient to upset a 
wagon and send it tearing down the mountainside, 
end over end. ' ' Several such accidents did happen, 
but the teamsters had the presence of mind to leap 
from their saddles and seek safety before the crash 
came. 

Of course the passage of the wagons put a great 
deal of unpleasant work upon the soldiers, and we 
are told that it was by no means unusual to see a 
squad of men " bolstering up a wagon, in order to 
keep the centre of gravity within the limit of safety. ' J 

During a portion of the journey rain fell inces- 
santly, soaking soldiers and officers to the skin. 
Then, just before the Coosa River was reached, the 
sun again shone on the bedraggled troops and dried 
their clothes upon their bodies. When they got to 
the river, already greatly swollen and rising rap- 
idly, they were ordered to ford the stream. ' ' Being 
averse to again marching in water-soaked clothing, 
they removed their shoes, socks and trousers, and 
strapped them upon their knapsacks ; then, tuck- 
ing their shirts under their arms, plunged in, dress- 
ing themselves on gaining the farther shore." 
Under hardships like these did Sherman and his 
army resolutely follow Joe Johnston. By the end 
of May, through hard work and fighting, too, Sher- 
man had contrived to drive the enemy from the 
strong positions of Dalton, Resaca, Cassville, Alia- 



184 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

toona and Dallas; had advanced Ms lines from 
Chattanooga nearly a hundred miles through "as 
difficult country as was ever fought over by civi- 
lized armies 7 ' ; and stood eager to go on as soon as 
the railroad communications to bring forward the 
necessary supplies were completed. The fighting 
had been continuous. Sherman's casualties for 
May, killed, wounded and missing, comprised nearly 
10,000 men. The troops had been under fire for 
the greater part of the whole month, owing not 
only to several actual engagements, but also to the 
skirmishing and the clever " sharpshooting " of 
the enemy. 

The month had been quite long enough to exhibit 
the powers of the two opposing generals in this 
strange duel which, in its peculiar details, has no 
exact parallel in the annals of war. Sherman had 
shown wonderful energy and resourcefulness in 
pushing back Johnston ; while it must be admitted 
that the latter, though outgeneraled, and perhaps 
lacking in initiative, retreated with skill. He 
was going to defeat at least gracefully. Sherman 
was always trying to force him to an open field en- 
gagement, while the Confederate, rightly or wrongly, 
placidly declined. l ' This campaign, ' ' observes Colo- 
nel Dodge, " resembles a bout with the foils. Both 
fencers are on guard. Sherman is constantly at play 
with his weapon, disengaging, cutting over, beat- 
ing, lunging, using every art to draw into action 
his antagonist, Johnston warily follows every dis- 
engagement, skilfully parries each lunge his 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 185 

stronger-armed adversary makes, with an occasional 
cautious riposte, which in turn is invariably coun- 
tered.'' 

In short, Johnston was pursuing the " Fabian" 
policy which another Southerner, Washington, had 
adopted with such success in the war of the Eevo- 
lution. But the Confederate was not a Washington, 
and conditions were different, while the new Fabius 
was not fortunate enough to be opposed by wool- 
gathering English generals. 

The month of June saw the continuance of this 
duel, as the two principals and their troops moved 
cautiously toward Atlanta. The North and the South 
alike awaited with breathless interest the result, 
which few could intelligently predict. For the 
South, everything now depended on the success or 
the failure of two armies; Lee's, in Virginia, and 
Johnston's retreating columns. Sherman knew, 
too, how anxiously Grant and Lincoln, and the loyal 
people far away, looked to him for success, and he 
went on, farther and farther, into a dangerous, hos- 
tile country, quite cheerfully, as if he were not in- 
curring a terrible responsibility. 

A weak man would have gone insane under such 
a burden. But Sherman showed no change of de- 
meanor, unless he seemed a bit more nervous than 
usual, and was so much himself, indeed, that he 
continued to abuse his old enemies, the politicians, 
and the unfortunate newspaper correspondents. He 
gave the latter a blast when he issued the following 
order : 



186 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

' ' Inasmuch as an impression is afloat, that the 
commanding general has prohibited the mails to 
and from the army, he takes this method of assuring 
all officers and men, on the contrary, that he en- 
courages them by his influence and authority to 
keep up the most unreserved correspondence with 
their families and friends. . . . What the 
commanding general does discourage is the exist- 
ence of that class of men who will not take up a 
musket and fight, but who follow our army to pick 
up news for sale, and who are more used to bolster 
up idle and worthless officers, than to notice the 
hard-working and meritorious, whose modesty is 
equal to their courage, and who scorn to seek the 
flattery of the press." 

The contemptuous allusion to the correspondents 
as men who "pick up news for sale," was hardly 
just, and the whole order lacked dignity ; but it was 
characteristic of Sherman's dislike in one quarter. 
Furthermore, it acted as a safety-valve for the gen- 
eral's wrath. Captain George W. Pepper, who 
quotes the order in his fragmentary but spirited ac- 
count of the campaign, adds that Sherman "had a 
righteous horror for a set of itinerant, flattering, 
spongy sycophants, who made it their business to 
inflate brainless staff- officers, while the field and 
line officers, with the brave rank and file, are sel- 
dom heard of outside of their commands." 1 

Meanwhile we find that General Johnston, after 

1 Pepper, " Personal Recollections of Sherman's Campaigns in 
Georgia and the Carolinas. ' ' 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 187 

more traveling, has retired to a position between 
Lost, Pine and Brush Mountains, a short distance 
from Marietta. Then, by a clever flanking move- 
ment, Sherman reestablishes his line along the rail- 
road, and secures a new base of supplies (June 10th). 
Later in the month he is assaulting the enemy 
at Kenesaw Mountain, just northwest of Marietta, 
but the result is not successful. We need not fol- 
low the remainder of the march in detail. It is 
more to the point to say that by the 20th of July 
Sherman's forces were getting in position around 
Atlanta, into which Johnston's army had retreated. 

But it was Johnston's army no longer. As 
he had moved to the southward the discontent 
with him had grown stronger and stronger in 
Richmond. He was relieved of command, and 
General John B. Hood took his place on the 18th 
of July. Hood was known as a " fighter," aggres- 
sive and enterprising ; much was expected of him. 
In justifying his removal of Johnston, Jefferson 
Davis says, in his "Kise and Fall of the Confederate 
Government" : 

" When it became known that the Army of Ten- 
nessee had been successively driven from one strong 
position to another, until finally it had reached the 
earthworks constructed for the exterior defense of 
Atlanta, the popular disappointment was extreme. 
The possible fall of the 'Gate City,' with its 
important railroad communications, vast stores, 
factories for the manufacture of all sorts of military 
supplies, rolling mills and foundries, was now con- 



188 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

teinplated for the first time at its full value, and 
produced intense anxiety far and wide. From 
many quarters, including such as had most urged 
his assignment, came delegations, petitions and let- 
ters, urging me to remove General Johnston from 
the command of the army, and assign that impor- 
tant trust to some officer who would resolutely hold 
and defend Atlanta. . . . Yet I did not [at 
first] respond to the wishes of those who came in 
hottest haste for the removal of General Johnston ; 
for here again, more fully than many others, I real- 
ized how serious it was to change commanders in 
the presence of the enemy. ... I was so fully 
aware of the danger of changing commanders of an 
army while actively engaged with the enemy, that 
I only overcame the objection in view of an emer- 
gency, and in the hope that the impending danger 
of the loss of Atlanta might be averted.' 7 

On the 17th, after Johnston had heard a report 
that the whole Union army had crossed the Chatta- 
hoochee River, above Atlanta, and while he was giv- 
ing instructions to one of his officers regarding the 
defense of the city, he received a telegram from 
General Cooper. "lam directed by the secretary 
of war," it ran, "to inform you that, as you have 
failed to arrest the advance of the enemy to the 
vicinity of Atlanta, far in the interior of Georgia, 
and express no confidence that you can defeat or 
expel him, you are hereby relieved of the command 
of the Army and Department of Tennessee," etc. 

It must be admitted that Johnston's telegram in 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 189 

reply, announcing that he had obeyed orders and 
had turned the command over to General Hood, was 
not exactly an inspiring defense. " As to the alleged 
cause of my removal," he telegraphed back, " I as- 
sert that Sherman's army is much stronger com- 
pared with that of Tennessee, than Grant's compared 
with that of Northern Virginia. Yet the enemy 
has been compelled to advance much more slowly 
to the vicinity of Atlanta, than to that of Eichmond 
and Petersburg ; and penetrated much deeper into 
Virginia than into Georgia." 

This excuse, even if a good one, leaves an un- 
pleasant impression on the mind, for it says, in ef- 
fect, ' ' Although I have had less advantages than 
Lee, I have proved myself a better general than 
Lee." 

Johnston and his friends felt very bitter over his 
removal, and many competent military critics con- 
sider that Jefferson Davis, in making it, was guilty 
of a blunder. Among these critics was Grant him- 
self, who says, in his "Memoirs" that he thinks 
Johnston's tactics were correct. "Anything that 
could have prolonged the war a year beyond the 
time that it did finally close, would probably have 
exhausted the North to such an extent that they 
might then have abandoned the contest and agreed 
to a separation. Atlanta was very strongly in- 
trenched." 

Although unable to carry them out, Johnston 
had his own views as to the defense of the city. He 
looked at the matter from both a political and a 



190 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

military view-point. From the political viewpoint 
he knew that there was arising in the North, among 
the Democrats, a strong peace party, and he 
realized that if he could but foil Sherman in his at- 
tempt against Atlanta the hands of this party might 
be strengthened, and the North might be brought 
to declare the whole war a failure — particularly if 
Lee could repulse Grant in Virginia. From a 
military standpoint, he had hoped that General 
Forrest, with a good force of cavalry, might be 
thrown into Sherman's rear, thus cutting off the 
latter' s railroad communications and supplies. 
"Such a result," he reasoned, "would have com- 
pelled General Sherman to the desperate resource 
of a decisive battle on our terms, which in- 
volved attacking excellent troops intrenched, or to 
that of abandoning his enterprise. In the first event 
the chances of battle would have been greatly in our 
favor. In the second, a rout of the Federal army 
could scarcely have been prevented." 

From this removal of Johnston resulted the 
greatest domestic quarrel within the Confederate 
household. But had he remained in command, 
could Johnston really have worsted Sherman f We 
think not. 

When Sherman heard of the change of generals, 
he asked Schofield, who had been one of Hood's 
classmates at West Point, about the Confederate's 
character. "Bold even to rashness, and cour- 
ageous in the extreme," was the decided answer. 
"The change means fight!" said Sherman, as he 



THE ATLANTA CAMPAIGN 191 

sent word to his division commanders to be pre- 
pared for battle in any shape. "This is just what 
we want — to fight in open ground, on anything like 
equal terms, instead of being forced to run up 
against prepared entrenchments. But the enemy, 
having Atlanta behind him, can choose the time 
and place of attack, and can at pleasure mass a 
superior force on our weakest point. Therefore, we 
must be constantly ready !" 

Several days later John Sherman was writing to 
his brother from the North : 

"We feel that upon Grant and you, and the 
armies under your command, the fate of this 
country depends. If you are successful, it is 
ardently hoped that peace may soon follow with a 
restored union. If you fail, the wisest can hope for 
nothing but a long train of disasters, and the strife 
of factions. . . . Everybody here dreads the 
breaking up of the Union as the beginning of 
anarchy. The very thing they fight for in the 
South is for them, and for us, the worst calamity. 
... But the anarchy of unsuccessful war will 
reduce us to a pitiable state, in which we shall 
easily fall victims to demagogism or tyranny. 
Every one feels that you have done your part 
nobly. Grant has not had such success. ... I 
congratulate you on the ability and success of your 
campaign. I see many ofiicers, and they all speak 
of it not only as a success, but as a scientific suc- 
cess, evincing abilities of a high order." 
It was well for the country at large that Sherman 



192 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

and Grant, despite their incessant smoking, could 
boast of good nerves. Otherwise they must have 
collapsed when they realized, as they fully did, how 
upon them alone depended the future of America. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 

General Hood now determined to reverse the 
policy of Johnston, officially under a cloud, and do 
what the Richmond government had so long been 
urging of the Army of Tennessee — fight. Johnston 
went home, with what feelings we may imagine ; 
Jefferson Davis and the South now looked for na- 
tional salvation to the new commander and to 
Robert E. Lee. 

About the time that Hood assumed command, his 
forces were strongly posted four miles in front of 
Atlanta, on the hills forming the south bank of 
Peach-tree Creek. On the afternoon of the 20th of 
July, when Sherman's army had closed in toward 
the city, the Confederates sallied out from their en- 
trenchments and fell against his right centre. The 
troops thus unexpectedly assailed, including 
Hooker's corps, had crossed Peach-tree Creek, and 
were resting at noon when the enemy came pouring 
out of their trenches and down upon them. It was 
a terribly exciting scene, as many of the Union 
soldiers, rising nobly to the occasion, jumped to 
their feet and, in many instances, began a hand-to- 
hand conflict with the Confederates. Hood had 
inaugurated his fighting policy with a vengeance. 



194 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

For a time the situation for the right centre 
seemed to be critical ; but General Thomas brought 
some field batteries into position, on the north side 
of Peach-tree Creek, from which he directed a 
furious fire upon the enemy. The Confederates 
fought magnificently for two hours, but they finally 
gave up the contest, and retired in good order to 
their works, leaving upon the ground four hundred 
dead and several thousand wounded. "We had 
met successfully a bold sally," Sherman records, 
"had repelled it handsomely, and were also put on 
our guard; and the event illustrated the future 
tactics of our enemy. This sally came from the 
Peach-tree line, which General Johnston had care- 
fully prepared in advance, from which to fight us 
outside of Atlanta. We then advanced our lines in 
compact order, close up to these finished intrench - 
ments, overlapping them on our left. From vari- 
ous parts of our lines the houses inside of Atlanta 
were plainly visible, though between us were the 
strong parapets, with ditch, /raise, chevaux-de-frise, 
and abatis, prepared long in advance by Colonel 
Jeremy F. Gilmer, formerly of the United States 
Engineers." 

It was discovered by Sherman on the morning of 
the 22d that during the previous night, the Con- 
federates had fallen back from the line of Peach-tree 
Creek, to the front of Schofield and Thomas, and 
had retreated to a strong line of redoubts forming 
the immediate defenses of Atlanta and covering all 
the approaches to the city. For some minutes the 



THE FALL OF A STBONGHOLD 195 

surprised general supposed that Hood intended to 
evacuate Atlanta. But when he rode at the head 
of the troops under the command of Schofield who 
had advanced to some open ground in front of a 
building known as the Howard House, he could see 
the Confederate main line strongly manned, with 
guns in position at intervals. Schofield was dress- 
ing forward his lines when General McPherson and 
his staff came up. McPherson and Sherman rode 
back to the Howard House, where they discussed 
the methods of Hood, who, by the way, had been 
a fellow- student at West Point with McPherson. 
"We ought to be unusually cautious, and pre- 
pared at all times for hard fighting," said Sher- 
man, and his companion gave this sentiment un- 
stinted approval. 

McPherson then began to discuss some move- 
ments which he proposed to make, and which his 
superior sanctioned. He was in high spirits as he 
explained his plans, and with his striking face, 
fine height and bearing, and becoming major- 
general's uniform, looked as handsome an officer 
as one could expect to find in the whole country, 
North or South. The two men now walked down 
the road a short distance, when they heard firing 
that neither could explain. " What can it mean ? " 
asked Sherman. "Til hurry down my line and 
send you back word," answered McPherson, as he 
called for his horse and summoned his staff. He 
quickly gathered together his papers, placed them 
in a wallet which he thrust into his breast-pocket, 



196 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

jumped on his horse, and dashed off. His adjutant- 
general and aides hurried away with him. 

The sound of musketry on Sherman's left and the 
booming of artillery back toward Decatur, five 
miles away, grew in volume. Becoming anxious, 
and knowing the intrepidity of Hood, he ordered 
Schofield to send a brigade to Decatur at once. 
He returned to the Howard House, and was walk- 
ing nervously up and down the porch, listening to 
the noise, when one of McPherson's aides rode up 
rapidly. His horse was in a foam ; the rider was 
pale and excited. Sherman ran to meet him with 
a question on his lips. 

" General McPherson is either killed or a pris- 
oner ! " the aide cried. He went on to explain, 
breathlessly, that, after leaving General Sherman, 
McPherson had ridden off to the head of General 
Dodge's corps, to which he had given certain 
orders ; then he had passed in full view of many of 
the troops in the direction of General Blair's posi- 
tion, after which, alone or attended by only one 
orderly, he had disappeared into dense woods. A 
sound of musketry was next heard from these 
woods, and soon McPherson's horse came galloping 
back, bleeding and riderless. It was learned later 
that upon entering the forest the general had 
suddenly met some Confederate skirmishers. They 
called upon him to surrender ; he started to ride to 
the rear, and was shot down dead or dying. 

Hood was now making a bold attack ; it seemed 
evident that he intended to throw a superior force 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 197 

against Sherman's left, while the latter' s front 
would be checked by the fortifications of Atlanta. 
Sherman had no time just then to grieve over the 
death of his friend. He gave instant orders for the 
repulse of the enemy — already the entire line was 
becoming engaged in battle — and placed General 
Logan in temporary command of the Army of the 
Tennessee. We have dramatic portraits of the 
soldierly-appearing Logan, ever a bit spectacular, 
as he succeeded the unfortunate McPherson in com- 
mand. " Bareheaded, flushed with rage and an 
instinct to avenge the death of his commander and 
friend, he spurred his high-strung black charger 
to its utmost speed, and dashed along the lines of 
his troops, somewhat disordered in places, restoring 
confidence everywhere by his gallant bearing and 
sharp, assuring words." Some persons have since 
asserted that he shrieked the words, "McPherson 
and Revenge ! " but whether he did, or did not, it 
is certain that, throughout this trying engagement, 
he behaved in a way which did honor to the Ameri- 
can valor shown alike by the Blue and the Gray. 1 

The sounds of battle grew more and more furious. 
Within another hour an ambulance bearing the 
body of McPherson came in to Sherman, who had 
it tenderly carried inside of the Howard House. 
But how little can death count when the living 
must think of war ! Sherman found that the wal- 
let, into which McPherson had thrust his papers on 

144 What Sheridan was at Winchester that was Logan at 
Atlanta."—^. Y. Hedley. 



198 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

riding away, was gone, and he felt alarmed. In that 
wallet was an important letter of instruction and in- 
formation which he had written the dead general 
the previous night. ' ' I was much concerned, ' ' says 
Sherman. But, fortunately enough, the wallet was 
found in the haversack of a Southern prisoner who 
was captured a few minutes after McPherson's 
death, and thus never reached the headquarters of 
General Hood. As Sherman gazed sadly on the re- 
mains of his dead friend, the shells of the enemy 
were raining on the Howard House, as if in vin- 
dictive pursuit of the stricken man. " Have the 
body carried to Marietta," ordered Sherman, "and 
I will see that it is taken back to his home in 
Ohio." Then he turned to give further orders for 
what was afterward called the " Battle of Atlanta." ' 
It may be inferred that it was no child's play to 
give such orders. The corps of General Hardee had 
sallied out from Atlanta, and, by making a circuit 
to the east, had struck General Blair's left flank. 
The battle, thus begun, raged throughout the day 
in front of the Seventeenth and Fifteenth Corps. 
But Hood's tactics did not prevail. At dusk the 
Confederates, "crushed and dispirited," drew off, 
with heavy cost. The total loss of the Northern 

1 McPherson was born November 14, 1828, and was therefore 
cut off in his very prime, at the early age of thirty-five years. 
Sherman made a report of his death to the secretary of war 
which was in itself a noble monument in words. "General 
McPherson fell in battle, booted and spurred, as the gallant 
and heroic gentleman should wish. Not his the loss, but the 
country's ; and the army will mourn his death and cherish his 
memory." 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 199 

forces was about 3,500. It had been a bloody 
conflict and nobly had Sherman and his men done 
their work. The skill of the Northern com- 
mander had been too much for the impetuous 
Confederate general. 

After Sherman had recovered from the strain of 
the battle he set himself to the task of appointing 
a successor to McPherson as permanent commander 
of the Army of the Tennessee. " General Logan," 
he says, "had taken command by virtue of his 
seniority, and had done well, but I did not consider 
him equal to the command of three corps." He 
recognized the undoubted ability of Logan, but re- 
garded him as a politician who looked to personal 
military fame as a stepping-stone to the gratifica- 
tion of his ambitions for civil preferment. Further- 
more, Logan was not a regular army officer, and 
Sherman, who was now more than ever determined 
to capture Atlanta, desired commanders who were 
" purely and technically soldiers," and who could 
execute delicate manoeuvres, requiring the utmost 
skill and precision. Yet he might have given the 
post to Logan had not General Thomas made 
strenuous objections. 

As it was, General Howard was appointed to com- 
mand the Army of the Tennessee. The selection 
was a good one. General Logan went back to his 
old corps, the Fifteenth, returning later to the North 
to assist in the political canvass; while Hooker, ag- 
grieved that he himself had not been elevated to 
McPherson' s place, asked to be relieved of command 



200 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

of the Twentieth Corps, in the Army of the Cumber- 
land. Poor Hooker was never a favorite of Sher- 
man's, who was not slow to grant the request. 

This incident gave rise to much unpleasant feel- 
ing on the part of Hooker's admirers, who asserted 
that he had been unfortunate enough to bring upon 
himself the jealousy of Sherman and General 
Thomas. "This is hardly probable," writes Sher- 
man, "for we on the spot did not rate his fighting 
qualities as high as he did." Throughout he 
speaks of this commander in a way as unusual as it 
is bitter, which shows how strained their relations 
must have been. Sherman was, indeed, a good 
hater, and was as honestly sincere in his dislikes as 
in his likes. 

In some respects, Grant agreed with Sherman, in 
the estimate of Hooker's character. He conceded 
that his achievements at Chattanooga had been 
brilliant, but regarded him as a dangerous man. 
' i He was not subordinate to his superiors. He was 
ambitious to the extent of caring nothing for the 
rights of others." It is certain that Hooker had 
what another writer has termed "an overplus of 
self-esteem," but he was a brave man and a hard 
fighter. We can see, however, that his egotistical 
temperament did not tend to find favor with Sher- 
man who, although a pardonable egotist himself, in 
a perfectly safe way, never let his self-respect or his 
ambitions run away with his head — even though 
his tongue occasionally led him into imprudence. 1 

1 " His [Hooker's] disposition was, when engaged in battle, 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 201 

On the night of July 26th Sherman moved the 
Army of the Tennessee out of its works for more 
activity. He planned to advance it rapidly to the 
right against the railroad below Atlanta, at the 
same time sending all the cavalry around by the 
right and left to make a lodgment about Jonesboro. 
As a result of this movement there was a sharp at- 
tack from the enemy on the morning of the 28th. 
The battle lasted until three o'clock in the after- 
noon, and each charge of the Confederate infantry 
was grandly repulsed. The enemy's losses were in 
the neighborhood of 5,000 men, and the result 
proved, in every way, a great victory for the 
Union, and, in a particular sense, for General 
Logan, whose Fifteenth Corps bore the brunt of the 
contest. 

Sherman was delighted, and none the less so be- 
cause Howard had acquitted himself so well in 
command of the Army of the Tennessee. It seems 
that the latter exposed himself freely, and when the 
firing finally ceased he walked the lines, where- 
upon the men, as reported to Sherman, " gathered 
about him in the most affectionate way, and he at 
once gained their respect and confidence." 

The victorious officers and troops felt particularly 
encouraged by this day's work, for they realized 
that Hood could now be attacked, at his own dis- 
advantage, outside his fortified lines. The men 

to get detached from the main body of the army and exercise a 
separate command, gathering to his standard all he could of his 
juniors."— Grant. 



202 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

of the Fifteenth Corps told Sherman (who always 
treated them in an unassuming, familiar way 
which they appreciated) that the battle had been 
for them "the easiest thing in the world." It 
was, they said, a common slaughter of the enemy ; 
and they pointed out "where the rebel lines had 
been, and how they themselves had fired deliber- 
ately, had shot down their antagonists, whose bodies 
still lay unburied, and marked plainly their lines 
of battle. . . . All bore willing testimony to 
the courage and spirit of the foe." 1 

It is not to be forgotten that Sherman himself 
nearly lost his life during this action. A cannon 
ball passed directly over his shoulder and killed 
the horse of his orderly who rode a short distance 
behind him. 

Thus the month of July ended, considerably in 
favor of the Union armies before Atlanta. True, 
their losses had been about 10,000 men, killed, 
wounded, or missing; but the Confederates had 
lost perhaps 1,000 more than that number without 
accomplishing anything. Sherman, with an army 
splendidly equipped, well-fed, and gaining in mili- 
tary experience every hour, remained placidly en- 
trenched before the city. Hood, indeed, was already 
bringing disappointment to those who had fondly 
hoped that he would fall upon Sherman and cap- 
ture the Northern forces. One Southern newspaper 
remarked satirically, "If Mr. Hood keeps on in 
this way of fighting, his army will be wiped out in 
1 "Memoirs of General William T. Sherman," Vol. II, p. 91. 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 203 

ten days, and the Yankees will still have a few men 
left to go to Mobile." 

The month of August opened hot and sultry, but 
the troops besieging Atlanta were but little incon- 
venienced. Their skirmish and main lines were in 
good position ; the field batteries were covered by 
imposing parapets ; an occasional shot or clatter of 
musketry gave animation to the scene. The men 
loitered about the trenches, or built huts for them- 
selves, and seemed "as snug, comfortable, and 
happy, as though they were at home." 

An amusing and highly characteristic incident 
occurred about this time. Sherman received noti- 
fication from Washington that Brigadier-Generals 
Osterhaus and Alvan P. Hovey, had been appointed 
major-generals by President Lincoln. Both officers 
were very efficient, and had begun the campaign 
with Sherman as division commanders, but had 
now gone to the rear — Osterhaus on account of 
illness, and Hovey because of a certain dissatisfac- 
tion over the composition of his division. When 
Sherman heard of the promotions he was angry, 
since other prominent officers serving under him 
had not been " advanced a peg," and he wrote to 
the War Department, sarcastically observing that 
"if the rear be the post of honor, then we had 
better all change front on Washington." 

To Sherman's amazement he received a personal 
letter from Lincoln, explaining that he had made 
the two appointments at the suggestion "of two 
men whose advice and character he prized most 



204 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

highly" — namely, Generals Grant and Sherman. 
Sherman then recalled the fact that after the victory 
of Vicksburg he, with Grant, had recommended 
the advancement of Osterhaus and Hovey, among 
other officers. The President had good-humoredly 
turned the tables on Sherman — and the latter en- 
joyed the joke as much as any one. 

A side-issue of the campaign which, but for its 
failure, might have formed one of the most dashing 
episodes of the war, should be briefly described. It 
involved that spirited soldier, General George Stone- 
man, at this time in command of the cavalry of 
Sherman's Army of the Ohio. Stoneman proposed 
to Sherman an inspiring project, it being nothing 
more or less than to break up the Macon Eailroad 
and then make a raid on Andersonville, rescuing 
the thousands of Union prisoners who were con- 
fined there, " badly fed and harshly treated." The 
difficulties of such a cavalry movement were great, 
but the risk was well worth taking, since success 
meant so much of value to the Federals. Sherman 
gave his consent to the movement, saying, " If you 
can bring back to this army any or all of those 
prisoners of war it will be an achievement that will 
entitle you and your command to the love and 
admiration of the whole country." 

The raid proved to be a dismal failure, although 
not through any lack of personal valor on the part 
of Stoneman or his cavalrymen. He succeeded in 
destroying a good deal of railroad rolling-stock and 
supplies, but at Clinton, Georgia, he found himself 



THE FALL OF A STKONGHOLD 205 

surrounded, as he supposed, by a superior force. 
He promptly arranged for the escape of all his 
cavalry excepting a detachment of 700 men ; and 
after occupying the attention of the enemy while 
his brigade commanders were cutting their way 
out, surrendered himself and his remaining forces 
to the Confederates (July 31st). It was some weeks 
before he was exchanged, and could return to serv- 
ice. He afterward did active work until the close 
of the war. Thus ended a scheme which, had it 
been crowned with success, would have made the 
name of George Stoneman memorable in the annals 
of our national history. 1 

It was early in August that Sherman had a seri- 
ous disagreement with General John M. Palmer, 
of the Fourteenth Corps, who denied the right of 
the commander-in-chief to place him under the 
orders of Schofield, in connection with certain 
operations along the railroad below Atlanta. 
Palmer asserted that he ranked Schofield in the date 
of his commission as a major-general ; Sherman de- 
cided in favor of Schofield, and Palmer, considering 
himself unjustly treated, sent in his resignation as 
commander of the Fourteenth Corps, at the same 
time securing permission to go home. Palmer, at 
a later date, said that he had offered to waive 
all question of rank in view of the fact that he was 
before the enemy, but that afterward, acting upon 
an unfriendly suggestion from Sherman, and con- 

1 General Stoneman, in future years, served as governor of 
California. 



206 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

viuced that lie could be of no further service at 
Atlanta, under the circumstances of the friction, 
had been forced into resigning. It is impossible to 
decide the merits of this quarrel. But Sherman 
was thoroughly justified in the confidence he re- 
posed in Schofield, and it does not appear that he 
lost anything by his decision. 

Just at this time Sherman telegraphed to General 
Halleck, at Washington: "We keep hammering 
away all the time, and there is no peace, inside or 
outside of Atlanta. ... I do not think it 
prudent to extend any more to the right, but will 
push forward daily by parallels, and make the in- 
side of Atlanta too hot to be endured. One thing 
is certain, whether we get inside of Atlanta or not, 
it will be a used-up community when we are done 
with it." 

At the North the coming autumn elections were 
giving the politicians much food for thought, and 
the question of the soldier-vote was, of course, an 
important one. To Schuyler Colfax, who was de- 
sirous that nine regiments of Indiana troops should 
be ordered where they could be furloughed so as to 
vote, Sherman wrote, in his curt, forcible manner, 
that the thing was impossible. "I have not now 
troops enough to do what the case admits of with- 
out extra hazard, and to send away a single man 
would be an act of injustice to the remainder. I 
think you need not be concerned about the soldiers' 
vote. They will vote — it may not be in the coming 
election — but you may rest assured the day will 



THE FALL OF A STKONGHOLD 207 

conie when the soldiers will vote, and the only 
doubt is, if they will permit the stay-at-homes to 
vote at all." ' 

Ever the same contempt for the " statesmen " and 
the non-combatants ! Sherman was prone to forget 
that if all the males up North had gone to war the 
business of the North, and therefore the war itself, 
would have fared very ill. 

It was on the day he wrote thus contemptu- 
ously, though naturally, to Colfax that he heard 
two interesting pieces of news. One was that 
Admiral Farragut had successfully entered Mobile 
Bay ; the other, that he himself had just been 
appointed a major-general in the regular army. 
He was not overjoyed at the second announcement ; 
he wished the President had waited until he was 
safely ensconced in Atlanta. When that would be 
he could not determine, although he kept busily 
"hammering " away with his artillery, besides try- 
ing to decoy the enemy outside their trenches, and 
moving his troops here and there, to make a " circle 
of desolation" around the city. He did not pro- 
pose, now, to assault the works, which were far too 
strong. A conviction was forced upon him that the 
Confederates would hold fast, even though his ar- 
tillery should batter down every house. 

But Sherman was nearer to victory than he knew. 
On the night of the 1st of September, after a heavy 

1 "The Sherman Letters," p. 238. Lincoln also wrote 
to Sherman as to the voting of troops in Indiana, but explained 
that his letter was "in no sense an order." 



208 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

engagement between Union troops and Hardee's 
corps of Hood's army, mysterious explosions 
sounded from Atlanta. Hood, finding his position 
entirely too precarious for comfort — for the Federal 
army was now interposed between him and Hardee 
— and considering the city at last untenable, was 
blowing up his ammunition trains and magazines. 
By daybreak of the 2d, he had stolen away from 
Atlanta and was moving toward Macon. Later in 
the morning blue-coated soldiers began to march 
into the city and Sherman had sent ringing over the 
wires to Washington his famous announcement : 
11 Atlanta is ours, and fairly won ! " Next to the 
capture of Eichmond, which Grant had not yet ac- 
complished, that of Atlanta was all-important. 
Sherman was delighted, in a grim but none the less 
decided way ; General Thomas, the imperturbable, 
11 snapped his fingers, whistled, and almost 
danced " j men went fairly wild at the news, as they 
shouted, and laughed, and hugged each other. As 
Sherman heard this "glorious laughter," as he 
calls it, he felt that for the toils and hardships of 
the previous three months they were now amply 
repaid. 

When the explosions caused by order of General 
Hood were occurring, Sherman, who was bivouacked 
twenty miles from Atlanta, woke up a neighboring 
farmer to inquire of him what he thought the 
sounds meant. The farmer said, " it sounded just 
like a battle." Some generals would have con- 
sulted their staff- officers on such a subject, but Sher- 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 209 

mau, who liked nothing better than to fraternize 
with " natives" and the country people, preferred 
to ask the opinion of a farmer inexperienced in the 
arts of war. 

There are many persons still living who can re- 
call how the North bubbled over with enthusiasm 
when the glad tidings flashed over the wires from 
the telegraph- station at Chattahoochee bridge, 
' ' Atlanta is ours and fairly won ! ' ' Lincoln, who 
had passed an anxious summer awaiting good news 
from somewhere, who feared Grant was checkmated 
anent Richmond and Petersburg, and who was 
afraid Sherman had ' ' run up against an impassable 
barrier," knew how opportune this triumph was. 
Success to the nation's arms was absolutely essential 
if the Republican party were to win in the coming 
November — and here was a success which filled the 
requirements, and probably made his own re-elec- 
tion certain. 

The President, always only too glad to honor 
those of his generals who did something decisive, at 
once wrote the following " thanksgiving" letter : 

' l Executive Mansion, 
" Washington, D. C, September 8, 186 If. 
"The national thanks are rendered by the Presi- 
dent to Major- General W. T. Sherman and the 
gallant officers and soldiers of his command before 
Atlanta, for the distinguished ability and persever- 
ance displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which, 
under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of 
Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges, and other 



210 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

military operations, that have signalized the cam- 
paign must render it famous in the annals of war, 
and have entitled those who have participated 
therein to the applause and thanks of the nation. 
"Abraham Lincoln, 
"President of the United States." 

Grant, no less appreciative, and delighted at the 
news, both for public and personal reasons, tele- 
graphed Sherman from City Point, Virginia: "I 
have just received your despatch announcing the 
capture of Atlanta. In honor of your great victory, 
I have ordered a salute to be fired with shotted 
guns from every battery bearing upon the enemy. 
The salute will be fired within an hour, amid great 
rejoicing. " 

Grant was just as quick as Lincoln to recognize 
the value, from a party point of view, of Atlanta's 
fall. It was, he says, i k the first great political cam- 
paign for the Eepublicans in their canvass of 1864. 
It was followed later by Sheridan's campaign in the 
Shenandoah Valley ; and these two campaigns prob- 
ably had more effect in settling the election of the 
following November than all the speeches, all the 
bonfires, and all the parading, with banners and 
bands of music, in the North." 

Throughout September the North was fairly aglow 
with pleasure and excitement. The press was 
exultant, while the "Copperheads" and the cynics 
who had predicted that no successful war could be 
waged against the South while McClellan was in re- 
tirement, suddenly became tongue-tied. " The fall 



THE FALL OF A STEONGHOLD 211 

of Atlanta," wrote Horace Greeley in the New York 
Tribune, " is truly, and in full military sense, the 
loss of Georgia ; and it is not too much to say that 
this crowning triumph of General Sherman's cam- 
paign does, in effect, enclose the Eebellion within 
the narrow limits of the Carolinas and of southern 
Virginia. It destroys beyond all hope of recovery 
the unity of the Confederacy, and all probability 
of its retaining a permanent hold on the continent. 
Not New Orleans, not Yicksburg, not Chattanooga, 
not Gettysburg, was such a victory as this. It 
comes at an opportune moment. Let the loyal 
North take heart. Devoutly thankful for the great 
mercy which is granted us, let us grow stronger in 
resolve, more unalterable in purpose, more re- 
ligiously confirmed in faith, that the Eebellion 
shall be utterly crushed and the Free Union of these 
States be re-established forever. " l 

And three days later, in warmly urging Lincoln's 
re-election, Greeley said : " Let the country shake 
off its apathy ; let us realize what is the price of 
defeat — a price neither we nor the world can afford 
— let it be understood how near we are to the end of 
the Eebellion, and that no choice is left us now but 
the instrument put into our hands, and that with 
that we can and must finish it." 

McClellan, now the Democratic nominee for the 
Presidency, was certainly doomed, so far as his ever 
occupying the White House might be concerned. 

The joy in the North was reflected, in the ob- 

1 New York Tribune, September 3d, 1864. 



212 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

verse way, by the gloom in the South. The latter 
did not abandon hope, being full of American pluck, 
but it was inevitably depressed and chagrined. 
J. B. Jones, a clerk in the Confederate War Depart- 
ment records in his diary, under the date of Sep- 
tember 4th : ' ' Atlanta has fallen, and our army 
has retreated some thirty miles ; such is Hood's 
despatch, received last night. . . . We have 
not had sufficient generalship and enterprise to 
destroy Sherman's communications. Some 40,000 
landowners, and the owners of slaves, are at their 
comfortable homes, or in comfortable offices, while 
the poor and ignorant are relied upon to achieve 
independence ! And these, very naturally, disap- 
point the President's [Davis] expectations on mo- 
mentous occasions. . . . The loss of Atlanta 
is a stunning blow." ' 

Another Southern view of Sherman's victory is 
worthy of quotation. It is from the pen of a lady 
who tells of her own experiences and observations in 
"Kichmond During the War." " At midsummer 
[1864] we beheld both campaigns of the enemy es- 
sentially failures," she writes, referring to Sherman 
and Grant. " Could the military situation which 
then existed have been preserved, the election of 
McClellan to the Presidency of the United States 
would have been secured, and a peace negotiation, 
that would have placed the South in a different 
status, might have been effected. But these bright 

1 Jones, " Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States 
Capital," Vol. II, p. 277. 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 213 

prospects were changed in a day. Whether from a 
desire to gratify popular clamor, or other causes 
at best imperfectly understood, General Johnston, 
who was then executing the masterpiece of strategy 
of the war, with a perfection of design and detail 
which delighted his own troops and challenged the 
admiration of his enemy, — who had performed the 
prodigy of conducting an army in retreat over three 
hundred miles of intricate country . . . was 
removed. . . . The fall of Atlanta was a severe 
blow to the Confederacy, and was received in Rich- 
mond with unconcealed distress. Mr. Davis was 
sensibly affected by this misfortune. Toward the 
close of September he made a visit to Georgia, and 
delivered a remarkable speech at Macon. He told 
the people that it grieved him to meet them in ad- 
versity, but that he considered the cause not lost — 
that sooner or later Sherman must retreat, and then 
would he meet the fate that befell Napoleon in his 
retreat from Moscow." ' 

General Hood, in the volume of his reminiscences, 
published some years after the war, says, at its very 
close, that "no man is justly entitled to be con- 
sidered a great general, unless he has won his spurs. 
Had General Johnston possessed the requisite spirit 
and boldness to seize the various chances for victory 
which were offered him, he never would have al- 
lowed General Sherman to push him back one 
hundred miles in sixty-six days, from one mountain 

1 ' ' Richmond During the War ; Four Years of Personal Ob- 
servation," by "A Richmond Lady." 



214 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

stronghold to another, down in the very heart of the 
Confederacy." ' 

The grievances of Hood, and the contrary griev- 
ances of Johnston, seem plausible enough in their 
different ways — but all their grievances put together 
only show that Sherman was a greater general than 
either of these two Confederate officers. 

General H. W. Slocum, who now commanded 
the Twentieth Corps, north of Atlanta, had been 
the first to enter the city. Sherman himself then 
moved back with the other troops, occupying a 
line extending from Decatur on the left to Atlanta 
in the centre, with commands reaching out of the 
town for some distance to the right. It was found 
that the place had been badly damaged by the 
" hammering" of Sherman's artillery. Almost 
every garden and yard had its cave, for the protec- 
tion of the citizens. Some of these bomb-proofs 
were fifteen feet deep, and well covered. "All 
along the railroad, around the intrenchments and 
the bluff near the city," relates Captain Conyng- 
ham, "were gopher holes, where soldiers and 
citizens concealed themselves." The Union troops 
now settled down for a brief rest ; officers and men 
looked happy ; the regimental bands, which had 
been almost silent for so many weeks, played joy- 
ous airs. " Even the bray of the half-starved gov- 
ernment mule seemed mellow and melodious, as it 
added to the din." 

1 "Hood's Advance and Retreat ; Personal Experiences in the 
United States and Confederate States Armies." 



THE FALL OF A STKONGHOLD 215 

Sherman now resolved upon a measure, due to 
military necessity, which earned for him in the 
South the reputation of being a tyrant and a 
monster of cruelty. He not only denied to "all 
civilians from the rear" (meaning principally 
sutlers and traders waiting at Nashville and 
Chattanooga like hungry vultures) the privilege 
of "the expected profits of civil trade" (i. e., 
the chance to swindle the army by selling poor 
supplies at high prices), but furthermore, he 
ordered that all citizens and families of Atlanta 
should temporarily leave the place, with the option 
of going either North or South, " as their interests 
or feelings dictated." "I was resolved," says 
Sherman, "to make Atlanta a pure military gar- 
rison or depot, with no civil population to influ- 
ence military measures. I had seen Memphis, 
Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans, all cap- 
tured from the enemy, and each at once was 
garrisoned by a full division of troops, if not more ; 
so that success was actually crippling our armies 
in the field by detachments to guard and protect 
the interests of a hostile population." 

The general realized what a storm of invective 
this order would bring down upon him from the 
enemy. And he wrote to Halleck, only two days 
after the evacuation of Atlanta by Hood, that "if 
the people raise a howl against my barbarity and 
cruelty, I will answer that war is war, and not 
popularity seeking. If they want peace, they and 
their relatives must stop the war." He tells us, 



216 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

too, that he knew this measure would convince the 
South that the North was in earnest, and that, if 
the former were sincere in its expressed desire to 
" die in the last ditch," the opportunity would soon 
come. 

Jefferson Davis characterized the order as a piece 
of barbarity only comparable to " Alva's atrocious 
cruelties to the non-combatant population of the 
Low Countries." He says, in his "Rise and Fall 
of the Confederate Government," that it involved 
the immediate expulsion from their homes, "and 
only means of subsistence, of thousands of un- 
offending women and children, whose husbands 
and fathers were either in the army, in Northern 
prisons, or had died in battle." And he adds, with 
bitterness: "At the time appointed the women 
and children were expelled from their houses, 
and, before they were passed within our lines, 
complaint was generally made that the Federal 
officers and men who were sent to guard them had 
robbed them of the few articles of value they had 
been permitted to take from their homes. The 
cowardly dishonesty of its executioners was in 
perfect harmony with the temper and spirit of the 
order." 

While Sherman was computing the losses of 
his campaign, 1 and debating the plans of another 

1 The respective losses of the Northern and Southern armies 
during the campaign, from May to September inclusive, have 
been summarized as follows : 



THE FALL OF A STKONGHOLD 217 

which should take him out of Georgia as success- 
fully as he had got iuto it (for he was certainly not 
unmindful that he was in the heart of a hostile 
country, with a Confederate army near him) he was 
engaged in an angry, but not uncongenial, corre- 
spondence with General Hood. The latter pro- 
tested,' in most vigorous language, against Sher- 
man' s order for the depopulation of Atlanta. ' ' Per- 
mit rae to say," he wrote, " that the unprecedented 
measure you propose, transcends, in studied and 
ingenious cruelty, all acts ever before brought to 
my attention in the dark history of war. In the 
name of God, and humanity, I protest, believing 
that you will find that you are expelling from their 
homes and firesides the wives and children of a 
brave people." 

Snerman at once answered this protest with the 
zest of the willing letter- writer. "You style the 
measure proposed," he wrote back, "unprece- 

Union Army : 

5 Killed 4,423 

Wounded 22,822 

Missing 4,442 



Total Northern loss 31,687 

Southern Army : 

Killed (Johnston) 1,221 

" (Hood) 1,823 

Wounded (Johnston) 8,229 

11 (Hood) 10,723 

Prisoners captured by Sherman's \ .„ qsq 

army, and officially reported to him J ' 



Total Southern loss 34,979 



218 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

dented, and appeal to the ' dark history of war ' for 
a parallel, as an act of ' studied and ingenious 
cruelty.' It is not unprecedented; for General 
Johnston himself very wisely and properly removed 
the families all the way from Dalton down and I 
see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted. 
Nor is it necessary to appeal to the dark history of 
war, when recent and modern examples i,re so 
handy. You yourself burned dwelling houses 
along your parapet, and I have seen to-da> fifty 
houses that you have rendered uninhabitable be- 
cause they stood in the way of your forts and men. 
You defended Atlanta on a line so close to town 
that every cannon-shot, and many musket-shots 
from our line of investment, that overshot their 
mark, went into the habitations of women and 
children. ... I say that it is kindness to 
these families of Atlanta to remove them no^ , at 
once, from a scene that women and children should 
not be exposed to, and the ' brave people J should 
scorn to commit their wives and children to the 
rude barbarians, who thus, as you say, violate fee 
laws of war as illustrated in the pages of its daik 
history. 

" In the name of common sense, I ask you not to 
appeal to a just God in such a sacrilegious manner. 
. . . Talk thus to the marines, but not to me, 
who have seen these things, and who will this day 
make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of 
the South as the best-born Southerner among you ! 
If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 219 

out as we propose to do, and not deal in such hypo- 
critical appeals to God and humanity. God will 
judge us in due time, and He will pronounce 
whether it be more' humane to fight with a town 
full of women and the families of a ' brave people 7 
at our back, or to remove them in time to places of 
safety among their own friends and people." 

Of course this very pungent defense brought 
forth a long and acrimonious counter- argument 
from General Hood. He ended by saying : i l We 
will fight you to the death ! Better die a thousand 
deaths than submit to live under you or your gov- 
ernment and your negro allies ! ' ' Both generals 
had by this time thoroughly lost their respective 
tempers — not of the best, in either case, in times 
of stress — and were becoming childishly grandilo- 
quent. At the same time Mayor Calhoun, of At- 
lanta, and several members of the city council, were 
writing Sherman, picturing to him the " appall- 
ing and heartrending" loss and suffering which 
the removal of the non-combatants was entailing. 
" The woe, the horrors, and the suffering, cannot 
be described by words ; imagination can only con- 
ceive of it, and we ask you to take these things 
into consideration." 

It was in answer to this that Sherman made use 
of his famous expression, "War is cruelty," trans- 
lated into the more emphatic axiom, "War is hell ! " 
Here are a few paragraphs from his reply ; they are 
worth quoting : 

"The use of Atlanta for warlike purposes is in- 



220 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

consistent with its character as a home for families. 
. . . Our military plans make it necessary for 
the inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew 
my offer of services to make their exodus in any 
direction as easy and comfortable as possible. You 
cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. 
War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it ; and those 
who brought war into our country deserve all the 
curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I 
know I had no hand in making this war, and I 
know I will make more sacrifices than any of you 
to-day to secure peace. But you cannot have peace 
and a division of our country. . . . You might 
as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against 
these terrible hardships of war. I want peace, and 
I believe it can only be reached through union and 
war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to 
early and perfect success. . . . Now you must 
go, and take with you the old and feeble, feed and 
nurse them, and build for them, in more quiet 
places, proper habitations to shield them against 
the weather until the mad passions of men cool 
down, and allow the Union and peace once more to 
settle over your old homes at Atlanta." 

Doubtless the mayor and city council were not 
convinced. Argument on either side did little good 
in those days. In the meantime Sherman had writ- 
ten to General Halleck, stating why he had made 
the much- contested order, and adding: a These 
are my reasons ; and, if satisfactory to the govern- 
ment of the United States, it makes no difference 



THE FALL OF A STRONGHOLD 221 

whether it pleases General Hood and his people or 
not." To this letter Halleck had replied that his 
course was fully approved by the War Department. 
"The safety of our armies, " he wrote, "and a 
proper regard for the lives of our soldiers, require 
that we apply to our inexorable foes the severe rules 
of war. ... I have endeavored to impress these 
views upon our commanders for the last two years. 
You are almost the only one who has properly 
applied them." 

There is no doubt that the order of removal was 
exceedingly harsh, and caused many hardships ; 
but it was justified as a military necessity, exactly 
as many other cruel things "in the dark history 
of war," as Hood called it, are justified as acts of 
military necessity. The incident does not show us 
Sherman in an amiable light, but he is not to be 
blamed on that score. Conquering generals cannot 
afford to be amiable. Their paths are strewn with 
awful misery — not with roses. "War is cruelty, 
and you cannot refine it." 



CHAPTEE IX 

THE MARCH TO THE SEA 

By the middle of September Sherman's thoughts 
began to revolve around the question of the future. 
In other words, now that he had got his armies 
into Atlanta, what was he to do with them next ? 
Hood's army had left the city, to be sure, but it 
was not far away, and Sherman was not certain of its 
intentions. " I concluded," he narrates, "to await 
the initiative of the enemy, supposing that he would 
be forced to resort to some desperate campaign by 
the clamor raised at the South on account of the 
great loss to them of the city." What would be 
the new campaign 1 Sherman already had an idea 
in embryo. As early as the 10th of September, 
General Grant had telegraphed to him from City 
Point: "As soon as your men are sufficiently 
rested, and preparations can be made, it is desir- 
able that another campaign should be commenced. 
We want to keep the enemy pressed to the end of 
the war. If we give him no peace whilst the war 
lasts, the end cannot be distant. ' ' 

After the fall of Atlanta, Jefferson Davis, recov- 
ering from his momentary depression at the blow, 
made several speeches with pluck if not exactly 
with wisdom, one of them to Hood's army, in which 



THE MAEOH TO THE SEA 223 

he sought to invest the people of the state of Geor- 
gia with renewed confidence and to put fresh in- 
spiration into the Confederate cause. He held out 
hopes that Sherman's army would soon be cut off 
from supplies, and would then be destroyed or cap- 
tured by the Confederates. 

Sherman at this very time was given to under- 
stand that Governor Brown, of Georgia, was tired 
of the war, and he actually invited that official to 
have a conference with him in Atlanta. He hoped 
that he might persuade Brown to withdraw all the 
Georgia troops from the armies of the Confederacy, 
and thus add to his military successes as conqueror 
of Atlanta the subtle successes of diplomacy. But 
the governor, although he sent the state militia to 
their homes to gather corn and sorghum, did not 
accept the general's invitation. 

Next General Hood, becoming active once more, 
began to destroy the railroad in Sherman's rear, 
while General Forrest, a genius in the management 
of Confederate cavalry (now in middle Tennessee) 
and General Wheeler started in to be unpleasantly 
aggressive. Sherman was obliged to assume the 
offensive, going with portions of his force hither and 
thither, until, as Grant tells us, it was evident it 
would be impossible to hold the line from Atlanta 
back and yet leave Sherman any troops with which 
to continue his movements. 

Sherman thus summarized the situation when he 
wrote home (October 11th) : "I still hold Atlanta 
in strength, and have so many detachments guard- 



224 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

ing the railroad that Hood thinks he may venture 
to fight me. He certainly surpasses me in the quan- 
tity and quality of cavalry, which hangs all around 
and breaks the railroad, and telegraph wires, every 
night. You can imagine what a task I have, 138 
miles of railroad, and my forces falling off very 
fast." 

As Grant puts it, ' ' something had to be done ; 
and to Sherman's sensible and soldierly mind the 
idea was not long in dawning upon him, not only 
that something else had to be done, but what that 
something else should be." 

The " something else" to be done was described 
to Grant in a telegram which Sherman sent from 
Atlanta : 

' ' We cannot now remain on the defensive. With 
25,000 infantry and the bold cavalry he has, Hood 
can constantly break my road. I would infinitely 
prefer to make a wreck of the road and of the coun- 
try from Chattanooga to Atlanta, including the lat- 
ter city ; send back all my wounded and unservicea- 
ble men, and with my effective army move through 
Georgia, smashing things to the sea. Hood may turn 
into Tennessee and Kentucky, but I believe he will 
be forced to follow me. Instead of being on the de- 
fensive, I will be on the offensive. . . . The 
difference in war would be fully twenty-five per 
cent. I can make Savannah, Charleston, or the 
mouth of the Chattahoochee." 

In other words, Sherman desired to extricate him- 
self from his new difficulties by a march southeast- 



THE MAECH TO THE SEA 225 

wardly to the seaboard, in the progress of which 
he would destroy railroads, crops, factories, war 
stores, etc. — thus ruining the country so far as to 
make it useless for the military and supply purposes 
of the Confederacy. He regarded the march as " a 
shift of base" of a strong army "from the interior 
to a point on the seacoast, from which it could 
achieve other important results." The " other im- 
portant results," as they later developed, would 
have as an objective point, Columbia, S. C, where 
he would be in the rear of General Lee and Rich- 
mond. "It was a bold game, this marching away 
from Hood while the latter was trying to lure Sher- 
man back to the line of the Tennessee by threaten- 
ing his communications. ' ' l 

Sherman, who in later life was often pestered by 
well-meaning friends to tell them when the thought 
of this march first " entered his mind," says, in his 
autobiography, that as soon as General Hood shifted 
his position to Palmetto Station, twenty-five miles 
southwest of Atlanta, he "saw the move in his 
mind's eye" ; and that when Jefferson Davis made 
a speech at Palmetto (September 26th), in which he 
predicted that the Union army would have a retreat- 
more disastrous than that of Napoleon from Mos- 
cow, he became even more positive in his convic- 
tion. In a few days he determined on the " time 
and manner." 

Grant had previously looked upon Mobile as the 
objective point of Sherman's army. Indeed, this 
1 " A Bird's Eye View of Our Civil War. » 



226 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

had been for some time a favorite project of the 
lieutenant-general's. But he finally fell in with the 
scheme of a march to the sea because his military 
instincts grasped its value, practical and strategic. 
The danger of Sherman's present position was be- 
coming more and more apparent, and Hood's opera- 
tions along the railroad back from Atlanta grew 
more and more annoying. The Union troops 
were making a brave and spirited defense in certain 
entrenched positions, yet there was great risk of 
their capture, as evidenced, for example, in the 
straits of the men who held Allatoona, under 
the indomitable General Corse. In a fierce attack 
here he was shot through the face, but bravely 
stuck to his post, amid great odds, and repulsed the 
enemy. 

" How could I keep open my line of communica- 
tion with the North and also keep up this warfare % " 
Sherman asked himself. And, having at last ob- 
tained Grant's consent to the proposed march, he 
began to make all his preparations and to dispose 
properly of his troops. "Sherman," says Grant, 
" thought Hood would follow him, though he pro- 
posed to prepare for the contingency of the latter 
moving the other way while he was moving 
South, by making Thomas [who had been sent to 
Nashville] strong enough to hold Tennessee and 
Kentucky. I, myself, was thoroughly satisfied that 
Hood would go north, as he did." l So Sherman 
ordered a large force to Thomas's assistance, in- 
1 " Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant." 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 227 

eluding General Schofield, commanding the Army 
of the Ohio. 

On the 2d of November Sherman's scheme of 
the march through Georgia was officially approved. 
It had not found great favor at Washington. 
" Even when it came to the time of starting," Grant 
relates, "the greatest apprehension as to the pro- 
priety of the campaign he was about to commence 
filled the mind of the President, induced, no doubt, 
by his advisers. This went so far as to move the 
President to ask me to suspend Sherman's march 
for a day or two until I could think the matter over. 
My recollection is, though I find no record to show 
it, that out of deference to the President's wish I 
did send a dispatch to Sherman asking him to wait 
a day or two, or else the connections between us 
were already cut, so that I could not do so." 

Grant very handsomely adds that the entire credit 
of the plan, in its conception and execution, be- 
longs to Sherman. "I was in favor of Sherman's 
plan from the time it was first submitted to me," he 
observes. But there were many people who realized 
that Sherman was taking great chances ; some, in- 
deed, firmly believed that he was again about to play 
the part of a lunatic. It was not strange, therefore, 
that the lieutenant-general did not give the plan in- 
stant approval. So late as the 1st of November 
he had telegraphed Sherman, probably at Lincoln's 
suggestion : "Do you not think it advisable, now 
that Hood has gone so far north, to entirely ruin 
him before starting on your proposed campaign? 



228 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

With Hood's army destroyed, you can go where you 
please with impunity." 

Sherman, evidently much wrought up over a pos- 
sible change in his plans, sent Grant two telegrams 
in reply. In the second one he said : 

" If I turn back the whole effect of my campaign 
will be lost. By my movements I have thrown 
Beauregard 1 [Hood] well to the west, and Thomas 
will have ample time and sufficient troops to hold 
him until reinforcements from Missouri reach him. 
We have now ample supplies at Chattanooga and 
Atlanta, and can stand a month's interruptions to 
our communications. I do not believe the Con- 
federate army can reach our railroad lines except by 
cavalry raids, and Wilson [General J. H. Wilson] 
will have cavalry enough to checkmate them. I am 
clearly of the opinion that the best results -will fol- 
low my contemplated movement through Georgia." 

It was then that Grant had given his consent in 
the words, " Go on as you propose." We can 
imagine the joyous twinkle in Sherman's clear eyes 
when he received this final imprimatur. He hurried 
forward the preparations for the march of three 
hundred miles. The sick and wounded were 
sent to Chattanooga; the troops garrisoning the 
railroad back from Atlanta, and designed for the 
march, were quickly brought into the city ; and in- 
structions were given to render the country to the 

1 General Beauregard was now exercising a general supervi- 
sion over the movements of Hood and his army, having been 
made commander of the " Military Division of the West." 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 229 

rear as useless as possible to the enemy (by the de- 
struction of tracks, mills, factories, etc. ). The army, 
thoroughly equipped and organized, now comprised 
about 60, 000 men, divided into a right wing, com- 
manded by Major-General O. O. Howard, and a left 
wing, commanded by Major -General H. W. Slocum. 
Of these forces there were some 53,000 infantry, 
5,000 cavalry, and nearly 2,000 artillery. The 
right wing was composed of the Fifteenth Corps 
(Osterhaus) and the Seventeenth Corps (Blair) 
while the left wing comprised the Fourteenth Corps 
(J. C. Davis) and the Twentieth Corps (A. S. Will- 
iams). The cavalry division, under Kilpatrick, 
was held subject to Sherman's personal orders. 

Without divulging to the troops the object or 
ultimate destination of the march, Sherman is- 
sued a " special field " order, wherein he indicated 
the requisites of the campaign. There was to be 
no general train of supplies, but each corps was to 
have its own ammunition-train and provision-train. 
The army was to " forage liberally " on the country 
during the march ; each brigade commander was to 
organize a good foraging party which would 
gather, along the route traveled, all necessary corn, 
horse-feed, meat, vegetables and the like. Soldiers 
must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, 
" or commit any trespass; " but during a halt they 
might "gather turnips, potatoes, and other vege- 
tables, and drive in stock in sight of their camp." 
Horses, mules, and wagons were to be appropriated 
freely, although discrimination was to be made be- 



230 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

tween the rich, "usually hostile," and the poor, 
' ' usually neutral or friendly. ' ' Negroes, when able- 
bodied and destined to be serviceable, might be 
taken with the army along the route, but it was 
hinted that none would be allowed to hamper the 
moving columns. 

Sherman had given the greatest possible attention 
to the artillery and wagon trains. Each gun, cais- 
son and forge was drawn by four teams of horses. 
There were in all about twenty-five hundred wagons, 
with six mules to each, and six hundred ambulances, 
with two horses to each. A goodly supply of am- 
munition was stored in the wagons, and each sol- 
dier carried forty rounds. The troops had over a 
million rations, (about twenty days' supply), to- 
gether with beef-cattle, to be driven along on the 
hoof, and five days' allowance of fodder. Sherman 
knew that Georgia would furnish, under protest, the 
rest of the food. All superfluous men, baggage and 
artillery were sent to the rear. ' l The Northern 
army," as General Force aptly expresses it, "was 
an athlete stripped for contest." 

On the 14th of November Colonel Poe, of the 
Engineer Corps, began a ' l special task of destruc- 
tion." He superintended the demolition of the 
railroad depot, roundhouse and machine shops in 
Atlanta — structures which might aid the Confeder- 
ates, should they repossess them, in the operations 
of war. In one of these machine shops, used as an 
arsenal by the secessionists, were stored piles of 
shot and shell ; fire was applied to the wreckage of 



THE MAECH TO THE SEA 231 

the buildings ; during the night there were loud ex- 
plosions from the shells ; the fire reached a block of 
stores near the depot ; the heart of the city was in 
flames. Already Sherman had cut all telegraphic 
and railroad communication with the North ; the 
army stood detached from its friends and was de- 
pendent upon itself and the resources of its un- 
daunted commander. 

The march from Atlanta began the next morning, 
the 15th. The right wing and cavalry followed the 
railroad southeast toward Jonesboro, and General 
Slocum, with the Twentieth Corps, led off to 
the east toward Madison. These were divergent 
lines, taken to prevent a concentration by the 
enemy at Sherman's real immediate objective, 
Milledgeville, about a hundred miles to the south- 
eastward. Sherman, with the Fourteenth Corps 
and the rear guard of the right wing, remained to 
complete the loading of the trains and the destruc- 
tion of buildings which might be converted to 
hostile uses. "The heaven is one expanse of lurid 
fire," writes Major Nichols ; " the air is filled with 
flying, burning cinders ; buildings covering two 
hundred acres are in ruins or in flames ; every in- 
stant there is the sharp detonation or the smothered 
booming sound of exploding shells and powder. 
. . . The city, which next to Eichmond, has fur- 
nished more material for prosecuting the war than 
any other in the South, exists no more as a means 
for injury to be used by the enemies of the Union." ' 
1 " The Story of the Great March." 



232 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

On the morning of the 16th of November, Sher- 
man and his staff briskly rode out of Atlanta by 
the Decatur road, which was filled with the march- 
ing troops of the Fourteenth Corps. As he cantered 
along he could see the woods in which poor Mc- 
Pherson fell ; behind him was the smouldering city, 
the black smoke rising like a pall over the ruins. 
Away in the distance was the rear of Howard's 
column, the gun-barrels of the soldiers glistening 
in the sun. One of the bands of the Fourteenth 
Corps struck up " John Brown's body lies a-mould- 
ering in the grave" ; the men caught the refrain, 
and sang the chorus of " Glory, glory, hallelujah ! " 
with a spirit that fairly thrilled the not always re- 
sponsive Sherman. 

"Then," says the latter, "we turned our horses' 
heads to the east ; Atlanta was soon lost behind the 
screen of trees, and became a thing of the past. 
. . . The day was extremely beautiful, clear 
sunlight, with bracing air, and an unusual feeling 
of exhilaration seemed to pervade all minds — a feel- 
ing of something to come, vague and undefined, 
still full of venture, and intense interest." 

We must remember that the anxiety which was 
felt at the North regarding this hazardous move- 
ment, was emphasized by the fact that the wires and 
communication with the outside world had been 
cut off completely, and the utmost uncertainty 
was to prevail for a time as to the fate of the 
army. Thousands of people discussed the pos- 
sible outcome, and in London the Times remarked, 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 233 

judicially, though not sympathetically: "That 
it is a most momentous enterprise cannot be 
denied ; but it is exactly one of those enterprises 
which are judged by the event. It may either 
make Sherman the most famous general of the 
North, or it may prove the ruin of his reputation, 
his army, and even his cause together. ' ' 1 

The soldiers seemed to be as much inspired 
as their commanding general. Many of them 
called out to him, as he rode past, " Uncle Billy, 
I guess Grant is waiting for us at Richmond!" 
The sentiment among the men was that Sherman 
was marching straight for the Confederate capital. 
There was a " devil-may-care " spirit pervading 
officers and men which made him "feel the full 
load of responsibility " ; for success would be 
accepted as a matter of course, whereas, should 
he fail, the march would be adjudged "the wild 
adventure of a crazy fool." Sherman had no in- 
tention of marching direct to Richmond 5 he now 
designed to reach the seacoast at Savannah, or Port 
Royal. 

On the first night out the general encamped by 
the roadside, near Lithonia. Already the work of 
destroying the railroad en route was merrily pro- 
gressing. All night groups of men were busy 
heating and then bending the rails, so as to render 
them absolutely useless to the enemy. Sherman 
gave great attention to this matter of putting the 
tracks hors de combat. The favorite method was to 



234 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

heat the middle of the rails on bonfires made of the 
cross-ties, and then to wind them around a tele- 
graph pole or the trunk of a tree. Some of these 
twisted rails are still to be found in Georgia. 

The next day Sherman and the troops with whom 
he traveled, passed, in military pageant, through 
the town of Covington, with flags unfurled and the 
bands playing patriotic airs. The whites of the 
place looked on with a sort of disgusted interest ; 
the emotional, unthinking negroes went wild with 
joy, as they clustered around Sherman's horse, and 
hailed him as their deliverer. The poor savages — 
for they were little more than that — no doubt fondly 
believed that the Millennium had arrived, and that 
in future they would have nothing to do but idle, 
sing plantation songs, and eat in plenty. But as we 
have seen, Sherman was never troubled with any 
false sentiment about the black race, and he was re- 
solved that his march should not be encumbered by 
numbers of useless negroes. He explained to one 
of them, more intelligent than the rest, that he de- 
sired the slaves to remain where they were, and not 
load down his army with u useless mouths," which 
would " eat up the food" needed by the soldiers; 
that a few of the younger blacks might be received 
as pioneers, but that most of them would not be al- 
lowed to follow, and thereby cripple, the army. In 
short, although he did not say so, he proposed that 
the South, not the North, should bear the black 
man's burden, as heretofore. We Northerners pur- 
sue the same policy to the present day. We are 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 235 

very ready to say sweet nothings to the negro, but 
we go no farther. When it conies to dealing with 
him, or living with him, then we too often become 
suddenly cold, and leave that complex duty to the 
Southerner. Thus it was with Sherman, who had 
no idea of inviting famine through an empty theory. 

While we are on this subject it is only fair to say 
that while many of the negroes in the South wel- 
comed the Northern troops, yet many more re- 
mained faithful, unto the last, to their old masters. 
This does not mean that there was any moral justifi- 
cation for slavery, but it does mean that there were 
thousands of slaves who always regarded their mas- 
ters as kind friends rather than as taskmasters. 
When we consider the degeneracy of a large pro- 
portion of the negro race to-day (a degeneracy from 
which a man like Booker T. Washington stands out 
as a delightful exception) we are tempted to say : 
" Slavery was wrong and theoretically inhuman, 
but have we Americans, with all our boasted civi- 
lization, done anything to make six out of every 
seven blacks better than they were in the old days ! " 
It is a great problem — and we must let the South 
solve it, if solved it may be ! 

It was near Lithonia that Sherman saw passing 
him a soldier with a ham fixed on his bayonet, 
a jug of molasses under his arm, and a piece of 
honey in his hand. Catching the eye of "Uncle 
Billy," he remarked to his companion, in a low 
tone, but loud enough to be heard : " Forage lib- 
erally on the country " — a quotation from the special 



236 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

field orders of the general. Whereupon Sherman 
reproved the man, explaining that " foraging" 
must be done in a systematic way, without ex- 
cess, etc., etc. But it was a frightfully abused in- 
stitution during the whole march, and the depre- 
dations of "Sherman's bummers," as these foragers 
were called, soon became a theme over which 
the most placid Southerners waxed red with 
rage. The "bummer," in fine, became a hideous 
comedian — inevitable yet disgraceful ; a requisite 
of the march, yet a most disagreeable personage 
for the historian to dwell upon, now that the war 
has been over for so many years. 

We have a Meissonier-like portrait of the "bum- 
mer," drawn by a skilled hand, in Hedley's "March- 
ing Through Georgia. " " Sherman had given him a 
personality, and specified his duties ; but certainly 
no one could have been more surprised than the 
general himself, to see the aptitude of this creature 
for his task, and the originality of his methods." 
Theoretically, the official foraging parties, which 
turned over their captures of horses, mules, meat, 
grain, etc. , to the commissary and quartermasters' 
departments, for issue in the regular order of things, 
should have amply sufficed for the needs of the 
marchers. But in point of fact under this "due 
process of law," there was seldom enough "loot" 
to satisfy everybody. The result was that each 
regiment sent out an independent foraging party, 
whose duty it was "to see that its particular com- 
mand was furnished with all the delicacies the 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 237 

country afforded." As the region was quite rich in 
provender, the result may easily be imagined. 

When the " bummer" started out on his first 
day's jaunt he went either on foot, or bareback on 
some wheezy horse or mule. At the first farmhouse 
he came to he would steal a fresh mount. "Then 
he would search the place for provisions, and soon 
have his animal, and perhaps two or three others, 
loaded down with poultry, meats, meal, sweet 
potatoes, honey, sorghum, and frequently a jug 
of apple-jack ; or, he would find a wagon and load 
it, with the aid of a few negroes, and hitch together 
mules and horses indiscriminately with such impro- 
vised harness as he could make out of old ropes, 
chains, and leather straps. ' ' Sometimes, on a hint 
from a friendly darky, he would open what looked 
like a newly-made grave but proved to be a snug 
receptacle for provisions. 

In many cases the unfortunate farmers, alarmed 
by the approach of the Union army, had disap- 
peared, taking with them what little they could. 
"Where the premises were abandoned, the 'bum- 
mer ' made a clean sweep, appropriating everything 
he wanted, and a great many things he did not 
want. If the negroes on the place told stories of 
great cruelty they had suffered, or of bitter hostility 
to the Union, or if there were bloodhounds about, 
which had been used to run down slaves, the injury 
was generally avenged by the torch. Where the 
'bummer' found women and children, he was usually 
as courteous as circumstances admitted. He would 



238 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

1 pass the time of day 7 with the old lady, enquire 
when she had heard from the 'old man,' and 
whether he was with Johnston (Hood), or Lee, 
winding up with kissing the baby. . . . The 
' bummer ' was a wily diplomat, and having estab- 
lished l an era of good feeling ' between himself and 
his unsuspecting victim, he cross-examined her in 
an innocent and insinuating way, managing to ac- 
quire a great deal of valuable information. . . . 
He learned all that was to be known of the neigh- 
bors farther down the road, whom he expected to 
' raid ' the next day — the quantity and description 
of supplies, and where they were to be found. In- 
formation under this head was usually yielded more 
willingly than upon any other subject ; for it is a 
curious trait of human nature that a man (or woman) 
who has been robbed, or swindled in a trade, takes 
a keen enjoyment, perhaps disguised, in seeing his 
fellows made fully as miserable as himself." 

The " bummer" usually confined his stealings to 
the country on each side of the road traveled by 
his own column. As the whole army marched in 
four columns, the various corps pursuing parallel 
roads, the "bummers" would sometimes sweep 
over a breadth of country covering sixty or eighty 
miles. And when they sneaked into camp with 
their plunder they were met with joyous welcome 
and watering mouths. 

The "bummers" were, in short, independent 
raiders — the Bohemians or free-lances of the moving 
camp. Sometimes they would desert their com- 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 239 

mands for days ; sometimes they became nothing 
more or less than thieves on their own account. 
Colonel Nichols has left us a picture of such a party 
of ' ' bummers " when discovered by some regimental 
officer, in the woods enjoying their spoil. 

" 'To what command do you belong?' asks the 
officer. 

"'Well, we don't answer for anybody in par- 
ticular,' replies one of the men ; i 'bout every corps 
in the army ; eh, Bill, ain't that so % ' 

"'Bill' says, 'Reckon!' and thinks it a huge 
joke, and everybody except the interlocutor laughs. 

'"How long have you been away from your 
regiment ? ' 

" At this question the ' bummer ' rises to his feet, 
and replies, rather more respectfully : 

" ' A week, or ten days, cap'n.' 

' ' ' Have you any authority for foraging ! ' 

'"No, sir!' 

" ' What use or benefit are you to the service, to 
say nothing of the criminality of your absence with- 
out leave f Now, you belong to a class which has 
brought discredit upon your comrades. You ought 
to be ashamed of yourselves, all of you ! ' 

"The dozen muscular fellows who heard this 
little moral speech seemed to fail to see the point 
of it. One of them replied : 

'"See hyar, cap'n; we ain't so bad, after all. 
We keep ahead of the skirmish line allers. We 
lets 'em know when an enemy's a-comin' ; and 
then we ain't allers away from the regiment. We 



240 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

turns over all we don't want ourselves, and we can 
lick five times as many " Bebs" as we are any day. 
Ain't that so, boys?' 

" i Lick 'em ! D 'em, yes ! Why of course ! ' 

were the instant replies of the 'boys.' 

u i Bather shoot "Bebs" than hogs any day!' 
roared the other 'bummer.' 

"After a little scene like this the officer would 
conclude that high moral precepts might be quite 
lost upon the party and would quickly take his 
leave." 1 

The official foraging was a necessity on this march 
to the sea; the illicit foraging of the " bummers" 
became a great scandal, because it inflicted untold 
hardship, even ruin, on thousands of poor Southern 
farmers. Sherman deplored the existence of the 
" bummers," but did not lie awake at night think- 
ing over their thefts. He was not throwing away 
any of his sympathy upon the Georgians — "war 
was war " — and he probably realized, too, that even 
he could not easily stamp out the i l bumming. ' ' He 
could not, or would not, draw the reins too tight. 
As a result, he soon became the most sworn -at man 
south of Virginia ; his name was made a synonym 
for cruelty, and a Georgia child who heard the aw- 
ful words, " Sherman is coming ! " fairly shook with 
fear. 

Jefferson Davis refers to the march as if it were 
one continuous round of pillage. "The arson of 
the dwelling-houses of non-combatants, and the 
1 "The Story of the Great March." 



THE MAECH TO THE SEA 241 

robbery of their property, extending even to the 
trinkets worn by women, made the devastation as 
relentless as savage instincts could suggest." l 

The author of " Richmond During the War," ex- 
claims : " We hardly dare to refer to the sufferings 
endured by the people of that section of the South 
over which General Sherman drew the trail of war. 
Enough to say that desolation was written on almost 
every foot of ground, misery on almost every human 
heart. Let a pen more eloquent describe all except 
the fierce spirit of revenge that reared its hydra- 
head in every bosom, and quenched effectually the 
latent fires of love that once glowed in devotion to 
the Union. . . . Over these things we would 
fain throw the mantle of oblivion ; but the wounds 
are too deep for the friendly covering to hide from 
view the ugly scars left by them." 

Edward A. Pollard, the author of a Southern war 
history, which is still interesting though filled with 
contemporary bitterness, evidently regarded Sher- 
man as little better than a wild beast — or perhaps, be- 
cause he was supposed to have a soul, as worse than a 
beast. Other Southerners have been no less condem- 
natory, and although there is now little left of the 
rancor of war, it is certain that Sherman's name will 
ever be regarded askance by many people of Georgia 
and the Carolinas. There may come a time when 
our Southern brothers will weave garlands around a 
statue of Grant ; there may come a time when by 



p. 570 



Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," Vol. 



242 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

permission of the North Robert E. Lee will have a 
statue erected in his honor at Gettysburg, but there 
never will come a time, however remote, when 
William Tecumseh Sherman will find enthusiastic 
admirers in the country traversed by his " bum- 
mers." That fact does not imply anything against 
Sherman himself, but it does mean that in warfare 
he gave "no quarter." 

To quote an unprejudiced Northern opinion, we 
may add that John C. Ropes, in his article on our 
general in the Atlantic Monthly (August, 1891), 
makes a number of pertinent citations to prove that 
Sherman thought he was justified in causing loss 
and damage to private and public property as a 
punishment for political conduct, "It can hardly 
be pretended that the devastation spoken of is that 
which follows naturally and inevitably in the wake 
of an invading army. . . . It is true that the 
orders issued to his army for its conduct on the 
great march are, though by no means strict, yet not 
in principle objectionable." But, to judge from his 
citations, Mr. Ropes thinks that Sherman did enun- 
ciate the principle that the infliction of devastation 
for the sake of punishment was within the rights of 
a general commanding, and sanctioned by the laws 
of modern civilized warfare. If this view can be 
correctly imputed to Sherman, he says, then the 
authorities are against him. l ' Military operations 
are not carried on for the purpose of inflicting pun- 
ishment for political offenses. . . . Whatever 
the Georgians and South Carolinians suffered by 



THE MAECH TO THE SEA 243 

having to supply provisions, forage, fuel, horses, or 
military stores of any kind to Sherman's invading 
army, whether more or less in amount, was a mere 
incident of a state of war, for which neither General 
Sherman nor his army was to blame. But if Sher- 
man purposely destroyed, or connived at the destruc- 
tion of property which was not needed for the supply 
of his army or of the enemy's army, he violated one 
of the fundamental canons of modern warfare j and 
just so far as he directed or permitted this, he con- 
ducted war on obsolete and barbarous principles." 
This is an axiom that no one can deny. Of course 
it is hard to say how far Sherman did, or did not, 
go out of his way to destroy property which was 
not needed either by him or the enemy ; and it is, 
therefore, impossible to give a definite verdict as to 
his moral responsibility in this phase of the cam- 
paign. One thing is certain; Sherman believed 
that the more sternly war was waged, the sooner it 
would be over ; he may have thought that present 
relentlessness meant future kindness. And yet, as 
we review his correspondence during this period, 
and try to understand his mood, we are compelled 
to admit that a spirit of revenge seems to mar the 
otherwise admirable poise of this great general. We 
cannot grow enthusiastic when he writes to General 
Halleck : "We are not only fighting hostile armies, 
but a hostile people, and must make old and young, 
rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war, as well as 
their organized armies." ! 

1 December 24, 1864. The italics are ours. 



244 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAJST 

Let us, however, continue on the march, of which 
Sherman himself gives us many striking pen pic- 
tures. On the 22d of November, as he pushed for- 
ward toward his goal, he found himself on the plan- 
tation of General Howell Cobb, a former secretary 
of the United States treasury, and now a zealous 
Confederate. " Of course," relates Sherman, "we 
confiscated his property, and found it rich in corn, 
beans, peanuts, and sorghum-molasses." He gave 
instructions to spare nothing ; soon huge bon- 
fires were consuming the fence-rails, and the soldiers 
were reveling in the immense quantity of provisions 
on the estate. 

The next morning Sherman rode into Milledge- 
ville, then the capital of Georgia. His left wing 
united around this place during the day, while the 
right wing was at Gordon, only twelve miles away. 
The first stage of the march seaward had been 
triumphantly successful, and without dangerous 
opposition. It was here that Sherman, upon read- 
ing some of the Southern papers, found he was 
accused of being on an inglorious retreat to the sea- 
coast, in the hope of finding safety there with a 
Union fleet. The people of Georgia were urged to 
encompass and destroy his army, and there was 
published a stirring appeal from General Beau- 
regard in which he said: "Obstruct and destroy 
all the roads in Sherman's front, flank, and rear, 
and his army will soon starve in your midst. Be 
confident! Be resolute! Trust in an overruling 
Providence, and success will crown your efforts. I 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 245 

hasten to join you in the defense of your homes and 
firesides. ' ' 

On the same day Senator Hill had written from 
Richmond, urging his fellow Georgians to "act 
promptly and fear not." "Put everything at the 
disposal of our generals ; remove all provisions 
from the path of the invader ; and put all obstruc- 
tions in his path. . . . You can destroy the 
enemy by retarding his march ! Georgians, be 
firm ! Act promptly, and fear not ! ' ' 

Sherman in view of the feeble opposition offered 
to his progress, merely laughed, gave orders for the 
destruction of certain public buildings in the state 
capital, and resumed the march. But the Southern 
idea of the march became known in the North and 
caused much uneasiness. General Grant assured 
Lincoln that Sherman was in no danger; that he 
might possibly be prevented from reaching the 
point for which he had started out, but he would 
"get through somewhere," and would finally ar- 
rive at his chosen destination. " If the worst came 
to the worst he could return North." So the Presi- 
dent assured anxious inquirers that Sherman and 
his men were in no peril. l i Grant says they are safe 
with such a general, and that if they cannot get 
out where they want to, they can crawl back by the 
hole they went in at." 

But what was Hood doing all this time? In- 
stead of following Sherman, that general determined 
upon an invasion of middle Tennessee. He had the 
Mobile and Ohio Railroad repaired and occupied 



246 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Corinth, at which point he might secure supplies 
from Selma and Montgomery. General Thomas, in 
Nashville, was at first uncertain whether he ought 
to pursue Hood, if the latter followed Sherman, or 
defend Tennessee against the advance of the other 
Confederate leaders ; but his doubts were soon set 
at rest. On the 19th of November Hood began his 
march toward Waynesboro. The forces under 
command of General Schofield, which had been in 
front of Hood, were ordered to retreat gradually 
from before the enemy, but to hold him as long as 
possible so that Thomas might get himself ready 
for the defense of the state. Schofield carried out 
this plan, in pursuance of which he finally retired 
to Franklin. Here a drawn battle was fought, in 
which Hood's soldiers made a wonderfully gallant 
charge, and sustained a heavy loss in consequence. 
The action resulted in no particular advantage for 
either side, but Schofield was now ordered back to 
Nashville, and, with the quiet deliberation for 
which he was remarkable, Thomas prepared to 
repulse Hood. The "Rock of Chickamauga" 
always liked to take his time before striking — 
so much so, indeed, that the authorities at Wash- 
ington more than once became painfully impatient. 
Indeed, Thomas was now ordered either to move 
on Hood immediately, or else turn over his com- 
mand to the quicker Schofield. 

'•The country was alarmed," says Grant, "the 
administration was alarmed, and I was alarmed 
lest . . . Hood would get north." Grant 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 247 

made the wires warm with appeals to Thomas 
to attack at once, but the "Rock" would only 
reply that he was doing the best he could, 
etc., and would move as soon as possible. At 
length the exasperated lieutenant-general or- 
dered General Logan to proceed to Nashville to 
relieve Thomas. He told Logan not to deliver the 
order until he reached Nashville, and, if he found 
that Thomas had actually moved, not to deliver it 
at all. ' l After Logan started, 7 ' adds General Grant, 
"I became restless, and concluded to go myself. 
I went as far as Washington city, when a despatch 
was received from General Thomas announcing his 
readiness at last to move, and designating the time 
of his movement. I concluded to wait until that 
time. He did move and was successful from the 
start." 

General Logan did not assume command ; Thomas 
splendidly vindicated himself at the battle of 
Nashville (December 15th and 16th). Hood and his 
army were overwhelmingly defeated, and the Con- 
federate general was glad to escape beyond the 
Tennessee with the remnants of his forces. It was 
one of the grandest Union victories of the war. 
"With the exception of his rear-guard," wrote 
Thomas, "his army had become a disheartened 
and disorganized rabble of half-armed and bare- 
footed men, who sought every opportunity to fall 
out by the wayside and desert their cause, to put 
an end to their sufferings." 

Thus ended, for all practical purposes, the 



248 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

military usefulness of Hood. Thomas's delibera- 
tion was no longer to be thrown into his face. He 
had admirably played into the hands of General 
Sherman. 

The latter, in the meantime, had been pursuing 
his march toward Savannah, without suffering 
much inconvenience from the sporadic opposition 
of cavalry or detached infantry. The people of 
Georgia were in no position to offer any defense 
against the invaders. The frantic appeals from 
Richmond were without avail. How could it have 
been otherwise ? 

The cavalrymen of General Wheeler, one of the 
most dashing and capable of Confederate officers, 
were making demonstrations on Sherman's left front, 
while General Kilpatrick and the Union cavalry 
were kept active by way of opposition. But at no 
time was Sherman seriously impeded. After leav- 
ing Milledgeville he marched on Millen, where he 
paused one day to communicate with all parts of 
his army. Of course the destruction of railroad 
tracks went on gayly, and foraging was prosecuted 
with undiminished zest. The army was in good 
condition and position ; the wagons were laden 
down with provisions ; the men looked upon the 
whole expedition as a frolic ; and Sherman, much 
pleased at results, now pushed on toward Savannah, 
which was strongly defended by General Hardee. 
The latter had been detached from Hood's army, 
in order to oppose the invaders. 

One incident of the march (December 8th) 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA 249 

deserves record. Sherman, in riding through the 
fields, not many miles from Savannah, found a 
young Union officer whose foot had been blown to 
pieces by a torpedo planted in the road. He was 
waiting for a surgeon to amputate his leg. " There 
had been no resistance at that point," narrates 
Sherman ; " nothing to give warning of danger, and 
the rebels had planted eight-inch shells in the road, 
with friction matches to explode them by being 
trodden on. This was not war, but murder, and it 
made me very angry." So angry, indeed, was the 
general that he ordered a lot of Confederate prison- 
ers to be armed with picks and shovels, and made 
them march in advance along the road, so that they 
might either explode or discover their own torpedoes. 
" They begged hard, but I reiterated the order, and 
could hardly help laughing at their stepping so 
gingerly along the road, where it was supposed 
sunken torpedoes might explode at each step." 
But no more were found until Savannah was 
nearly reached. Such an incident gives a keen 
glimpse of the cruelties that sometimes disgraced the 
war on both sides. In this instance the cruelty of 
Sherman was justified, as a sort of ironic retribu- 
tion ; the cruelty of the dastard who devised the tor- 
pedo scheme threw a black shadow on the cause of 
the South. 

By the 10th of December the several corps of 
Sherman's army had reached the defenses of Savan- 
nah. He found that the city was protected by a 
large garrison, and, as he once more caught sight of 



250 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

a familiar parapet, together with deep ditches and 
canals full of water, it looked as if another siege 
were inevitable. He saw at once that his first step 
was to open communication with Admiral Dahl- 
gren's fleet, hovering in the offing, and to do this it 
was necessary to capture Fort McAllister, a Con- 
federate stronghold to the south of Savannah. 
General Hazen's division of the Fifteenth Corps 
marched down the right bank of the Ogeechee Eiver 
and gallantly carried the fort by storm (Decem- 
ber 13th). Sherman now established communi- 
cation with the fleet, and thus sent off a note to 
Secretary of War Stanton in which he said, among 
other things : ' i The quick work made with Fort 
McAllister, the opening of communication with our 
fleet, and our consequent independence as to sup- 
plies, dissipate all their [the enemy's] boasted 
threats to head us off and starve the army. I re- 
gard Savannah as already gained." 

A little later mails arrived from the North. 
There was great relief over the news of the army's 
safety. In one of two letters from General Grant 
(dated City Point, December 6th) he said that the 
most important operation toward ending the war 
would be to " close out" Lee and his army. " You 
have now destroyed the roads of the South," he 
went on, "so that it will probably take them three 
months without interruption to re-establish a 
through line from east to west. In that time I 
think the job here will be effectually completed. 



THE MAJROH TO THE SEA 251 

My idea now is that you establish a base on the 
seacoast, fortify and leave in it all your artillery 
and cavalry, and enough infantry to protect them, 
and at the same time so threaten the interior that 
the militia of the South will have to be kept 
at home. With the balance of your command 
come here by water with all dispatch. Select your- 
self the officer to leave in command, but you I want 
in person. Unless you see objections to this plan 
which I cannot see, use every vessel going to you 
for purposes of transportation." 

Sherman, who had set his heart on the capture of 
Savannah, was much concerned on reading this let- 
ter. The idea of going to Virginia by sea, instead 
of land, came upon him as a thunder- clap. He 
supposed that vessels to convey his troops to Vir- 
ginia would soon pour in, and like a good general, 
he made ready to carry out Grant' s orders — but he 
likewise determined to push operations i ' in hopes to 
secure the city of Savannah before the necessary 
fleet could be available." He wrote a long letter to 
Grant, explaining his positioD, and ending with : 
" Our whole army is in fine condition as to health, 
and the weather is splendid. For that reason alone 
I feel a personal dislike to turning northward. I 
will keep Lieutenant Dunn here [the aide-de-camp 
sent to Sherman with Grant's letters] until I know 
the result of my demand for the surrender of 
Savannah, but, whether successful or not, shall not 
delay my execution of your order of the 6th, which 



252 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

will depend alone upon the time it will require to 
obtain transportation by sea." 

In brief, General Sherman was not anxious that 
the " transportation " should be too quick in reach- 
ing him. 



CHAPTEE X 

SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 

In order to lose no time, General Sherman sent 
a flag of truce into Savannah (December 17th) 
within twenty-four hours of his writing to Grant, 
with a formal demand that General Hardee should 
surrender the city. After detailing the advantages 
of his position— the supplies now coming to him by 
water, the heavy ordnance he could bring to bear 
upon the enemy, the fact that he would soon be able 
to starve out the garrison, etc.,— Sherman wrote : 
"Should you entertain the proposition [to sur- 
render] I am prepared to grant liberal terms to the 
inhabitants and garrison ; but should I be forced to 
resort to assault, or the slower and surer process of 
starvation, I shall then feel justified in resorting to 
the harshest measures, and shall make little effort 
to restrain my army — burning to avenge the national 
wrong which they attach to Savannah and other 
large cities which have been so prominent in drag- 
ging our country into civil war." 

The writer of this volume is a great admirer of 
General Sherman, but it is impossible for him to 
justify the threats as to " harshest measures," and 
an army " burning to avenge the national wrong." 
They savored too much of mediaeval methods of 



254 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

warfare, and were, moreover, going into the polit- 
ical ethics of the question rather than into the 
purely military aspect. The Union general was be- 
fore Savannah as a /soldier, and not as a statesman j 
he was there to fight, which he always did nobly, 
and not to discuss the rights and wrongs of the great 
conflict — a subject which he should have left to the 
politicians he always anathematized so roundly. 

It must be candidly admitted that at this period, 
Sherman had worked himself into a revengeful 
spirit quite unseemly and unnecessary, so that as we 
look back at him, in these peaceful days, he appears 
actually vindictive. Of course, a great many peo- 
ple on both sides of Mason and Dixon's line had 
wrought themselves into frenzies of bad temper by 
this time, yet we do not like to see so great a man 
as the hero of our biography writing to Grant : 
1 ' With Savannah in our possession, at some future 
time, if not now, we can punish South Carolina as 
she deserves, and as thousands of the people in 
Georgia hoped we would do. I do sincerely believe 
that the whole United States, North and South, 
would rejoice to have this army turned loose on 
South Carolina, to devastate that state in the man- 
ner we have done in Georgia, and it would have a 
direct and immediate bearing on your campaign in 
Virginia." 

Hardee was in hard straits in Savannah. But he 
refused to surrender in a letter he wrote to Sherman, 
wherein he added, respecting the latter' s threats: 
"I have hitherto conducted the military oper- 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 255 

ations entrusted to my direction in accordance with 
the rules of civilized warfare, and I should deeply 
regret the adoption of any course by you that may 
force me to deviate from them in future." 

Nothing now remained for Sherman but assault. 
"I concluded," he says, "to make one more effort 
to completely surround Savannah on both sides, so 
as further to excite Hardee's fears, and, in case of 
success, to capture the whole of his army." His 
forces had already invested the place on the north, 
south, and west, but there remained to Hardee, on 
the east, the use of an old plank road leading into 
South Carolina. Sherman had an easier victory 
than he hoped for : on the morning of December 
21st, it was found that the city had been evacuated 
and the stars and stripes were soon floating from 
the government buildings. Hardee had wisely 
crossed the Savannah River with his army by a 
pontoon bridge, and thus beat a judicious retreat, 
To prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, 
he had destroyed an ironclad gunboat and a ram; 
but had left for the conquerors valuable artillery, 
with stores of ammunition, locomotives, cars, and 
steamboats, not to mention cotton and other sup- 
plies. Once more was Sherman's military acumen 
gloriously vindicated. The march to the sea, in its 
end as well as in its bold beginning and continu- 
ance, had proved a triumph that set the whole 
loyal North into another great frenzy of emotional 
patriotism. Sherman was more of a hero than ever. 
The happy general sent off to Lincoln, the follow- 



256 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

ing message which reached the President, very ap- 
propriately, on Christmas eve : 



" Savannah, Georgia, 
u December 22, 186 4. 
" To His Excellency, President Lincoln, 

" Washington, D. C. 
"I beg to present yon, as a Christmas gift, 
the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty 
guns, and plenty of ammunition ; also about twenty - 
five thousand bales of cotton. 

"W. T. Sherman, 
"Major-General." 



The President was delighted, and no wonder. 
He wrote Sherman an admirable reply to the mes- 
sage from Savannah. "Many, many thanks," 
he said, "for your Christmas gift — the capture 
of Savannah. When you were about leaving 
Atlanta for the Atlantic coast I was anxious if 
not fearful, but feeling that you were the better 
judge, and remembering that ' nothing risked, 
nothing gained,' I did not interfere. Now, the un- 
dertaking being a success, the honor is all yours ; 
for I believe none of us went farther than to acqui- 
esce. And, taking the work of General Thomas 
into the count, as it should be taken, it is indeed a 
great success. Not only does it afford the obvious 
and immediate military advantages ; but, in show- 
ing to the world that your army could be divided, 
putting the stronger part to an important new 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAEGLINAS 257 

service, and yet leaving enough to vanquish the old 
opposing force of the whole — Hood's army — it 
brings those who sat in darkness to see a great 
light. But what next? I suppose it will be safer 
if I leave General Grant and yourself to decide. 
Please make my grateful acknowledgments to your 
whole army, officers and men. ' ' 

It is not every President of the United States, 
either before or after Lincoln, who would have so 
frankly teudered to another all the credit of a great 
military movement. 

During the Georgia campaign, or ' ' March to the 
Sea," beginning with the departure from Atlanta 
and ending with the capture of Savannah, Sher- 
man's casualties, comprising killed, wounded, and 
missing, aggregated only 764 men, while there were 
captured by his forces over 1,300 men. The prop- 
erty confiscated during the march included thou- 
sands of horses and mules, not to mention the 
supplies, or the fact that the army and its live 
stock obtained an abundance of food while in 
progress. 

Sherman's own opinion of the strategic value 
of the movement is, naturally, of great importance. 
"I considered this march," he says, "as a means 
to an end, and not as an essential act of war. 
Still, then, as now, the march to the sea was gen- 
erally regarded as something extraordinary, some- 
thing anomalous, something out of the usual order 
of events ; whereas, in fact, I simply moved from 
Atlanta to Savannah, as one step in the direction 



258 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

of Richmond, a movement that had to be met 
and defeated, or the war was necessarily at an 
end." x 

He goes on to say, however, that "were he to ex- 
press his measure of the relative importance of the 
march to the sea, and of that from Savannah north- 
ward, he would place the former at one, and the 
latter at ten, or the maximum." 

Although he does elsewhere, Sherman seems 
not to give here all necessary importance to the 
"moral effect" of the march— an effect which is 
clearly appreciated in Lincoln's letter thanking 
him for the "Christmas gift." In the actual 
march there was nothing extraordinary, but the 
wonderful characteristic of it— the genius of it, so 
to speak, — lies in the fact that Sherman, beset by 
difficulties around Atlanta, had the audacity to 
extricate himself therefrom by a movement in the 
very heart of the enemy's country, which, although 
it turned out so successfully, might have resulted 
in disaster to the army in progress. 2 

John Cannon well observes of the march that 
' ' of its vast influence toward closing the war, of 
the irreparable blow it inflicted on the battered 

1 ''Memoirs of General William T. Sherman," Vol. II, p. 
220. 

2 " The boldness [of the maroh] lay in conceiving its far 
reaching advantages ; not in carrying through the mere details 
of the progress." — "Bird's Eye View of Our Civil War." 
The London Times said, editorially, on January 9, 1865: 
"The capture of Savannah completes the history of Sherman's 
march, and stamps it as one of the ablest, certainly one of the 
most singular, military achievements of the war." 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAEOLINAS 259 

body of the Confederate states, the on- coming- 
year, 1865, was to bring astounding evidence." 1 

In an official report on the campaign Sherman 
estimated the damage done to Georgia at a hundred 
millions of dollars. "This," he said, "may seem 
a hard species of warfare, but it brings the sad 
realities of war home to those who have been 
directly or indirectly instrumental in involving us 
in its attendant calamities." 

Sherman had now reached an airy pinnacle of 
fame from which, fortunately, he was never obliged 
(save for several weeks of temporary unpopularity) 
to descend. In the North the people invested him 
with a halo of romance, and Congress formally 
tendered him the public thanks ; at Savannah, 
where he was now comfortably quartered, his 
soldiers, without giving him a halo, accorded him 
their admiration and confidence. They knew 
him as he was — a sturdy, uncompromising war- 
rior, rather than a cavalier, or an officer of the 
Dumaseque type. He wrote home just then: "I 
hear the soldiers talk, as I ride by, ' There goes 
the old man. AWs right! 7 Not a waver, doubt, 
or hesitation when I order, and men march to 
certain death without a murmur if I call on them, 
because they know I value their lives as much as 
my own. I do not feel any older, and have no 
gray hairs yet. ... I do not fear want of ap- 
preciation, but, on the contrary, that an exagger- 

" Grant's Campaign for the Capture of Richmond." 



260 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

ated faith will be generated in my ability, that no 
man can fulfil." 

Sherman, in fine, was jubilant, and as he told Hal- 
leck, could afford, to "chuckle over Jeff Davis's 
disappointment in not turning the Atlanta com- 
paign into a 'Moscow disaster.'" Furthermore, 
he had been pleased by the receipt of a letter from 
Grant, written just before the capture of Savannah, 
in which the lieutenant-general practically left 
Sherman free to go north by land, rather than by 
sea. "I did think," wrote Grant, "the best thing 
to do was to bring the greater part of your army 
here, and wipe out Lee. The turn affairs now 
seem to be taking has shaken me in that opinion. 
I doubt whether you may not accomplish more 
toward that result where you are than if brought 
here, especially as I am informed, since my arrival 
in the city [Washington], that it would take about 
two months to get you here with all the other calls 
there are for ocean transportation. ... If you 
capture the garrison of Savannah, it certainly will 
compel Lee to detach from Eichmond, or give us 
nearly the whole South. My own opinion is that 
Lee is averse to going out of Virginia, and if the 
cause of the South is lost he wants Eichmond to be 
the last place surrendered." 

Grant was, indeed, preparing to strike his great 
blow against Lee who was still making so fine a 
defense in Virginia. Shrewd Southerners, those 
who could read the handwriting on the wall, and 
were not carried away by sectional patriotism, be- 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAEOLINAS 261 

gan to see that unless the unexpected happened 
their cause would soon be lost. The fall of Savan- 
nah filled the South with uneasiness and created an 
unpleasant sensation in Eichmond — where such 
sensations were now becoming the rule instead of the 
exception. The newspapers there kept themselves 
in cheer with difficulty. One ^of them said that as 
Savannah was neither a military nor a manufactur- 
ing place, its loss was not, after all, a very serious 
blow ; but it admitted that the general military situ- 
ation was unsatisfactory. Another journal advised 
"all cowards to leave immediately for England, 
Canada or Mexico." Still another predicted, 
wisely, that Sherman would soon advance north, 
and that hard times were in store for the Carolinas. 
u Men are silent, and some dejected," writes a 
looker-on in Eichmond ; "it is unquestionably the 
darkest period we have yet experienced." 1 

During Sherman's brief stay in Savannah, where 
he had about twenty thousand inhabitants to deal 
with, he appears to have been in an amiable frame 
of mind, and even conciliatory. He gave the 
citizens the option of remaining at home or going 
to Charleston or Augusta, and most of them re- 
mained. He even visited the house of one lady 
(the wife of a Confederate, General G. W. Smith) 
to see that she was receiving proper treatment at 
the hands of the conquerors. Further he estab- 
lished friendly relations with the mayor and city 
council, whom he allowed to resume charge of the 
1 Jones, "A Rebel War Clerk's Diary." 



262 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

public interests of the city, although subject, of 
course, to military law. In short, the people of 
Savannah, who had come to regard Sherman as an 
ogre and his army as a ferocious phalanx of rob- 
bers, murderers, and ravishers, must have been 
most agreeably disappointed. And surely the 
general had a right to be in good humor. 

Early in January there arrived from the North, 
on a revenue cutter, Secretary of War Stanton and 
other officials who wished to inspect the fruits of 
the latest victory. Mr. Stanton, who spent several 
days in the city, manifested a remarkable interest 
in, and sympathy for, the negroes, which, as Sher- 
man shrewdly tells us, " was not of pure humanity, 
but of politics." The " negro question," which is 
still a question, forty years since, was already be- 
ginning to loom politically, and it was foreseen 
by many that the former slaves would secure the vot- 
ing franchise. "I did not dream of such a result 
then," says Sherman, with commendable frankness, 
in quite refreshing contrast to the hypocrisy of cer- 
tain alleged " friends of the colored brother." " I 
knew that slavery, as such, was dead forever, and 
did not suppose that the former slaves would be 
suddenly, without preparation, manufactured into 
voters, equal to all others, politically and socially." 

It is hard for the new generation to realize the 
atmosphere of sympathy with which the negro was 
invested by the North forty years ago. It was 
often a sincere sympathy and there were many 
enthusiasts who actually believed that the colored 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 263 

race should be placed on a social par with the white. 
Mr. Stanton is an inscrutable historical character, 
in whom there is much to condemn, much to praise, 
and we cannot undertake to say how far his profes- 
sions of love were, or were not, honest. But he 
talked a great deal on the subject and got Sherman 
to arrange for him an interview with about twenty 
of the more intelligent negroes of the place, mostly 
Baptist and Methodist preachers. The secretary of 
war now proceeded to ask these men a variety of 
questions, regarding slavery, emancipation, etc., 
and finally demanded of them: "What is the 
feeling of the colored people toward General Sher- 
man, and how far do they regard his sentiments 
and actions as friendly to their rights and interests, 
or otherwise ? ' ' 

The answer to this was that the general's " de- 
portment " toward the negroes in Savannah charac- 
terized him as "a friend and gentleman." It was 
added that "we have confidence in General Sher- 
man, and think what concerns us could not be in 
better hands." 

Sherman, as we have seen, was a sincere well- 
wisher of the negroes, but had no sympathy with 
impossible theories about them. He was un- 
deniably disgusted at the gross conduct of Stan- 
ton. It certainly was a strange fact, he thought, 
that the great secretary of war should catechize 
colored men concerning the character of a general 
who had commanded a hundred thousand men in 
battle, had conducted an army across miles and 



264 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAX 

miles of hostile territory, and had just brought 
some thousands of freedmen along with the army to 
a place of security. But because he had not 
"loaded down his army with hundreds of thou- 
sands of poor negroes" he was supposed to be 
' ' hostile ' ' to the black race. 

Here it should be mentioned that Sherman had 
but recently received a confidential letter from 
General Halleck, warning him that certain persons 
near Mr. Lincoln were instilling doubts into the 
latter' s mind as to the general's orthodoxy regard- 
ing the "inevitable Sambo." "They say," wrote 
Halleck, "that you have manifested an almost 
criminal dislike to the negro, and that you are not 
willing to carry out the wishes of the government in 
regard to him, but repulse him with contempt. 
They say you might have brought with you to 
Savannah more than fifty thousand, thus stripping 
Georgia of that number of laborers, and opening a 
road by which as many more could have escaped 
from their masters ; but that, instead of this, you 
drove them from your ranks, prevented their fol- 
lowing you by cutting the bridges in your rear, and 
thus caused the massacre of large numbers by 
Wheeler's cavalry." 

Sherman seems to have satisfied Stanton that he 
was friendly toward the negro, and, at the sug- 
gestion of the secretary, he issued a special order 
providing for the enlistment of colored troops and 
giving the freedmen certain rights to settle on land. 
The general also convinced the zealous secretary 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 265 

that there was no truth in the charges, indicated by 
Halleck, as to large numbers of negroes being driven 
from the ranks to be " massacred" by Wheeler's 
cavalry. These charges were due to the fact that 
on one occasion, when General Jefferson C. Davis, 
of the Fourteenth Corps, removed a pontoon bridge 
from Ebenezer Creek, during the " march to the 
sea, 7 ' some of the black camp-followers tried to 
swim across the stream, in their fright at being left 
behind, and were drowned. Davis could not be 
blamed for the panic among the poor fellows who 
thought their only salvation was in following in the 
wake of "Massa" Sherman. It need hardly be 
added that General Wheeler, every inch the soldier 
and the gentleman, did not engage in the " mas- 
sacre" of defenseless negroes. 

Sherman was now revolving in his own mind the 
project to march northward, and join Grant's army. 
Grant himself wrote from City Point, on the 27th 
of December, that he believed the thing was prac- 
ticable. "The effect of such a campaign," he 
added, "will be to disorganize the South, and pre- 
vent the organization of new armies from their 
broken fragments. Hood is now retreating, with 
his army broken and demoralized. His loss in men 
has probably not been far from twenty thousand, 
besides deserters. If time is given, the fragments 
may be collected together and many of the deserters 
re-assembled. If we can, we should act to prevent 
this. Your spare army, as it were, moving as pro- 
posed, will do it. . . . Of course, I shall not 



266 WILLIAM TEOUMSEH SHEEMAN 

let Lee's army escape if I can help it, and will not 
let it go without following to the best of my ability. 
Without waiting further directions, then, you may 
make your preparations to start on your northern 
expedition without delay." 

Sherman began his preparations at once, although 
he was in doubt as to whether the administration at 
Washington wished him to take Charleston en route 
or confine himself to breaking up the railways of 
North and South Carolina with the ultimate object 
of uniting with Grant before Eichmond. Later on 
Grant, wishing to aid Sherman in every way, or- 
dered General Schofield's corps to the east, to ad- 
vance up the Neuse Eiver to Goldsboro, N. C, 
and also directed General A. H. Terry, the captor 
of Fort Fisher, to take Wilmington. The forces 
of Sherman were put in good order; recruits 
came from the North ; men returned from fur- 
loughs, and his army soon comprised 59,000 in- 
fantry, 4,400 cavalry, and 1, 700 artillery, together 
with about 2,500 six-mule wagons, sixty -eight guns, 
with six horses to each, sixty-eight four-horse cais- 
sons, and numerous ambulances. Each division 
had its own supply train ; rations were to be issued, 
but reliance was to be placed on the customary for- 
aging, and cattle were to be taken along on the hoof. 

Sherman, not receiving any orders to the con- 
trary, made up his mind to waste no time on Charles- 
ton or Augusta, although he purposely gave it out, 
with some ostentation, that he was heading for 
either one of those points. His real objective was 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 267 

Columbia, South Carolina. By the middle of 
January all was ready ; a garrison was left in 
charge of Savannah, and the movement began. 
We need not go into the details of the exacting 
march, with the vast difficulties caused by heavy 
rains, the bridging over of streams, and the constant 
necessity of " corduroying " roads. The opposi- 
tion, indeed, at first came more from nature than 
from the military. The forces of the enemy im- 
mediately facing Sherman did not frighten him. 
General Wheeler still had a cavalry division, albeit 
much reduced in size by his constant fighting ; and 
General Wade Hampton had been sent to South 
Carolina to raise men to punish Sherman for the 
" insolent attempt to invade the glorious state." 
Sherman was more concerned as to whether Lee 
would move southward to oppose him, not relishing 
the idea of having the supplies of his (Lee's) army 
cut off; or whether the remains of Hood's army 
(which were being hurried across Georgia) would 
join with the forces of Hardee, Wheeler, and Hamp- 
ton to offer a spirited resistance. With such possi- 
bilities Sherman pursued his new march, which 
brought him, on the 16th of February, opposite 
Columbia. 

The eyes of the whole country were now fixed 
upon Lee and Grant in Virginia and upon Sher- 
man in the Carolinas. In the North already there 
was talk of making the latter a lieutenant-gen- 
eral, and hints that he might, in time, be a feasible 
Presidential candidate. But the general frankly 



268 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

discouraged any such ideas, and wrote to John 
Sherman that he deemed it unwise to create another 
lieutenant-general. "Let the law stand as now," 
he said. ' 1 1 will accept no commission that would 
tend to create a rivalry with Grant. I want him 
to hold what he has earned and got. I have 
all the rank I want." He added, apropos of the 
political gossip concerning him: "If you ever 
hear anybody use my name in connection with 
a political office, tell them you know me well 
enough to assure them that I would be offended 
by such association. I would rather be an en- 
gineer of a railroad, than President of the United 
States. ... I have commanded one hundred 
thousand men in battle, and on the march, success- 
fully and without confusion, and that is enough for 
reputation. Next, I want rest and peace, and they 
can only be had through war." ! 

Columbia was peaceably occupied by Sherman 
on the 17th of February, and the incident would 
have had but passing importance in the history of 
the campaign had it not been for the great fire 
which broke out that day in the town and finally 
reduced the best part of it to ashes. 

The troops marched into one of the fairest cities 
of the South, with its wide, tree-lined streets, hand- 
some buildings, and imposing new capitol, glitter- 
ing in the sun ; they left it blackened, charred, 
half-ruined. Yet there seems no reason to believe 
that the soldiers were, in the main, responsible 
1 " The Sherman Letters," p. 245. 



SAVANNAH AND THE CABOLINAS 269 

for this result, although it was long believed, by 
his enemies, that Sherman had deliberately planned 
the destruction of the whole place. He had ordered 
General Howard to destroy the * ' public buildings, 
railroad property, manufacturing and machine 
shops" ; but to spare Columbia's libraries, asylums 
and private dwellings. These orders gave rise to 
the assertion that the subsequent conflagration, 
which burned out the heart of the city, and led to 
some pillage, was to be attributed to the Union 
forces, while Sherman always contended that it 
resulted from bales of cotton set on fire by Wade 
Hampton's party of cavalry before it beat its 
retreat. 

It is certain that Sherman did all in his power to 
relieve the unfortunate citizens, stricken alike by 
war and the flames. He had already made every 
effort to stop the fire on the night of the 17th, but 
without success. There is no doubt, however, that 
among a certain element of the Union soldiers that 
night there were drunkenness, rioting and acts of 
vandalism which, while perhaps inevitable, were 
nevertheless inexcusable — although one cannot hold 
Sherman personally responsible for this want of 
discipline, occurring, as it did, amid the inde- 
scribable confusion incident to a large fire. 

William Gilmore Simms, the Southern novelist, 
afterward wrote a bitter arraignment of the con- 
duct of some of the troops on that wretched night. 
Women, he says, were " hustled" from their rooms 
— their ornaments snatched away from them — the 



270 WILLIAM TEOTTMSEH SHEEMAN 

clothes which they were trying to save from the 
flames stolen from their hands. "It was in vain 
that the mother appealed for the garments of her 
children. They were torn from her grasp and 
hurled into the flames. The young girl striving to 
save a single frock had it rent to fibres in her grasp. 
Men and women, bearing off their trunks, were 
seized, despoiled ; in a moment the trunk was burst 
asunder with the stroke of the axe or gun butt, the 
contents laid bare, rifled of all the objects of desire. 
' Your watch ! 7 l Your money ! ' was the demand. 
Frequently no demand was made. Earely was a 
word spoken, where the watch, or chain, or ring, 
or bracelet, presented itself conspicuously to the 
eye. It was incontinently plucked away from the 
neck, breast, or bosom. Hundreds of women, still 
greater numbers of old men, were thus despoiled. 
The slightest show of resistance provoked violence 
to the person." ' 

Simms goes on to say that these acts were not 
always confined to the common soldier. " Commis- 
sioned officers, of rank so high as that of colonel, 
were frequently among the most active in spolia- 
tion, and not always the most tender or considerate 
in the manner and acting of their crimes ; and, 
after glutting themselves with spoil, would often 
utter the foulest speeches, coupled with oaths as 
condiment, dealing in what they assumed, besides, 
to be bitter sarcasms upon the cause and country." 

Undoubtedly a few private houses were fired by 
1 Simms, ''The Burning of Columbia." 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 271 

incendiaries j undoubtedly a few of the soldiers 
themselves were fired with bad Southern whiskey. 
But the author of " Marching Through Georgia," 
who was in Columbia at the time (while Simms was 
not) says distinctly : 1 1 There were some ghouls in 
this army, as in all others, no matter how civilized 
the age, or righteous the cause; and a very few 
such in the midst of thousands of honest and con- 
scientious soldiers, could readily bring reproach 
upon all. But the author does not know, nor, after 
diligent inquiry, has he been able to find, any sol- 
dier who was in Columbia at that time, who knows 
of any such vandalism as was attributed to Sher- 
man's army by William Gilmore Simms." 

Colonel Nichols, who was also an eye-witness of 
the fire, records in his u Story of the Great March " 
— and he penned the words almost as the incidents 
were happening — that the Union soldiers worked 
nobly, removing household belongings from the 
dwellings which were in the track of the approach- 
ing flames, and here and there extinguishing a fire 
when there was hope of saving a structure. He 
adds that Sherman and his officers " worked with 
their own hands" until long after midnight, trying 
to save life and property. i i The house taken for 
headquarters is now filled with old men, women, 
and children who have been driven from their homes 
by a more pitiless enemy than the detested 'Yan- 
kees.' Various causes are assigned to explain the 
origin of the fire. I am quite sure that it origi- 
nated in sparks flying from the hundreds of bales 



272 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

of cotton which the rebels had placed along the 
middle of the main street, and fired as they left the 
city. . . . There were fires, however, which 
must have been started independent of the above- 
named cause. The source of these is ascribed to 
the desire for revenge from some two hundred of 
our prisoners, who had escaped from the cars as 
they were being conveyed from this city to Char- 
lotte, and, with the memories of long sufferings in 
the miserable pens I visited yesterday on the other 
side of the river, sought this means of retaliation. 
Again it is said that the soldiers who first entered 
the town, intoxicated with success and a liberal 
supply of bad liquor, which was freely distributed 
among them by designing citizens, in an insanity 
of exhilaration set fire to unoccupied houses." 

No one can say now what was the exact measure 
of license and intentional disorder on the night of 
the fire. Naturally, the mischief was minimized 
by the Northerners and, no less naturally, greatly 
exaggerated by the Southerners, who were now all 
the more disposed to regard Sherman as a brute. 
But we can well hold him guiltless in the premises. 
The evidence is in his favor. And the subsequent 
decision of the Mixed Commission on American 
and British Claims, concerning cotton then des- 
troyed at Columbia, relieved Sherman's army of 
all official responsibility for the general fire. 

In this connection the following excerpt from 
Sherman's testimony before the Mixed Commission 
may be apropos, as well as interesting : 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 273 

Question : u General Sherman, it is alleged that 
Von Moltke said your army was an armed mob! " 

Answer : ' ' Von Moltke was never fool enough 
to say that. I have seen Von Moltke in person ; I 
did not ask him the question, because I did not pre- 
sume that he was such an ass as to say that. . . . 
The Prussian army learned many a lesson, and prof- 
ited by them, from our war, and their officers were 
prompt to acknowledge it." 

Question : i l General, I have often heard your 
enemies in the South admit the perfect discipline of 
your army?" 

Answer : l i We could not have done what we 
did do, unless we had kept them under good disci- 
pline." 

Question : 1 1 Can you tell me anything about the 
Fifteenth Corps?" 

Answer : " Yes, indeed I can. I know all about 
it ; they were as fine a body of men as ever trod 
shoe leather." 

Question: "They had the reputation of doing 
their work well ? ' ' 

Answer : i l Yes, thoroughly. ' ' 

Question : " Had they not a reputation for leav- 
ing their mark upon the country?" 

Answer : " Yes ; they left their marks wherever 
they went." 

Question : l i You were aware of this ? ' ' 

Answer : ' ' Perfectly. ' ' 

Question : " They were a wild set, were they 
not?" 



274 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

Answer : " No, sir ; they were composed of first- 
rate men — farmers and mechanics, men who are to- 
day as good citizens as we have in our country, but 
who went to war in earnest. They were mostly 
western men." 

Question : " They were good men for destroying 
property ? ' ■ 

Answer: "Yes; when told to do so, they des- 
troyed it very quickly." 

Question: "When not told to do so, if they 
thought they might do it, and if not objectionable 
to their officers " 

Answer : " They could do their work very thor- 
oughly when they undertook it." 

Question : "Were they in the habit of destroy- 
ing property?" 

Answer : " No ; I do not think they were, more 
than was necessary. They were a very kind set of 
men, and I have known them frequently to share 
their rations with citizens and people along the 
country ; I have often seen it done." 

Question : "Do you mean to say that you were 
not aware that the Fifteenth Corps was a corps 
distinguished for the marks they left upon the 
country through which they passed?" 

Answer : "I may have known it, and very 
likely I did ; I generally knew what was going 
on." 



Question: "Do you not believe that individ- 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 275 

uals assisted in spreading the conflagration at 
Columbia ?" 

Answer : "My own judgment was that the fire 
originated from the imprudent act of Wade Hamp- 
ton in ripping open the bales of cotton, piling it in 
the streets, burning it, and then going away. . . . 
Some soldiers, after the fire originated, may have 
been concerned in spreading it, but not concerned 
at all in starting it." 

The morning sun of the 18th of February had 
risen brightly over ruined Columbia. On the same 
day Charleston was evacuated by General Hardee, 
who found the latter city of no further strategic 
value, and hoped to make himself more useful in 
the field. Four days later Wilmington, N. C. , was 
captured by General Terry. Sherman, who was al- 
ready continuing on his march northward to Golds- 
boro, was well pleased with the results of the cam- 
paign thus far. It was evident, indeed, that the end 
was near. In the meantime Charleston was taken 
possession of by a brigade of General Foster's troops, 
while General Hardee had retreated eastward, 
across the Pedee River. 

Sherman now began to experience some strong 
opposition to his progress. At Cheraw the Con- 
federates concentrated under Hardee (who had 
with him the soldiers previously in garrison at 
Charleston), in an effort to stem the Union advance, 
but they were out-manoeuvred and obliged to 
evacuate the place. Sherman found Cheraw full 
of supplies, including a large quantity of Madeira 



276 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

which the general (no mean authority) considered 
the finest he had ever tasted. General Kilpatrick 
and his cavalry, operating on the outskirts of the 
marching army, were given plenty to do, too, by 
Hampton's cavalry. On one occasion Kilpatrick 
had divided his force into two parts, occupying 
roads behind the Twentieth Corps, and interposing 
between the infantry of Sherman and Hampton's 
horse. Hampton broke across this line, and 
actually captured the house wherein General Kil- 
patrick was taking temporary shelter. The latter 
and most of his men made for a neighboring 
swamp, where they reorganized their demoralized 
forces, and, returning, drove off Hampton's party. 
However, the enterprising Confederate took with 
him Kilpatrick' s private horses and several hundred 
prisoners, and the Union cavalry general was thus 
warned to be more prudent in future. 1 

It was in Cheraw, in the very house that General 
Hardee had occupied, that Sherman came across a 
fairly recent copy of the New York Tribune. He 
read it, of course, and found it to contain one item 
of news which he considered " extremely mischiev- 
ous" — an announcement that General Sherman 
would next be heard from about Goldsboro, be- 
cause his supply-vessels from Savannah were 
rendezvousing at Morehead City (on the North 

1 Sherman seems to have had, even after the war, a particular 
aversion for Wade Hampton, whom he calls, in his " Memoirs," 
" a braggart." But Hampton deserves a better name— that of 
a gallant fighter. It is a name that Sherman if now living, 
would, doubtless, give to the dead "cavalry Crichton." 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAKOLINAS 277 

Carolina, coast, southeast of Goldsboro). There 
are times when the truth is unwelcome, as Sher- 
man now felt, since he realized that this num- 
ber of the Tribune must have been in Hardee's 
hands. It is safe to infer that he indulged in 
his usual strong terms against war correspondents, 
for he says: "Up to that moment I had en- 
deavored so to feign to our left that we had com- 
pletely misled our antagonists ; but this was no 
longer possible, and I concluded that we must be 
ready for the concentration in our front of all the 
forces subject to General Joseph Johnston's orders, 
for I was there also informed that he had been 
restored to the full command of the Confederate 
forces in South and North Carolina." 

Sherman's information was quite correct. The 
much criticised Johnston, whose Fabian policy 
had called forth the condemnation of Jefferson 
Davis, had been assigned by General Lee to com- 
mand the Confederate troops (probably numbering 
26,000 in all), available for opposition in front of 
Sherman. It was a sort of vindication for the 
deposed general, but it came too late. 

Johnston, speaking of the new assignment (which 
was made whilst he was quietly living in Lincoln- 
ton, N. C), says his orders from Lee were to 
" concentrate all available forces, and drive back 
Sherman." Before assuming command he visited 
General Beauregard, whose headquarters were at 
Charlotte, and found that the latter was much 
pleased at the selection of Johnston for this work, 



278 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

— none the less so on account of the feeble state of 
his own health. u He also," adds Johnston, "gave 
me a copy of a despatch that he had addressed to 
General Lee the day before, in which the same feel- 
ing was expressed. I therefore accepted the com- 
mand, confident of the same loyal and cordial 
support from that distinguished officer, in the final 
operations of the war, that he had given me at its 
commencement. This was done with a full con- 
sciousness on my part, however, that we could have 
no other object in continuing the war than to ob- 
tain fair terms of peace ; for the Southern cause 
must have appeared hopeless then to all intelligent 
and dispassionate Southern men. I therefore re- 
sumed the duties of my military grade with no 
hope beyond that of contributing to obtain peace 
on such conditions as, under the circumstances, 
ought to satisfy the Southern people and their 
government. 7 ' 

Johnston bravely took up a thankless burden. 
Sherman, moving forward, as his army broke rail- 
roads and foraged on the country, reached Fayette- 
ville, N. C, on the 11th of March. Here he wrote 
several important letters which must have given 
joy to the recipients. To the secretary of war, 
he said — "I have done all that I proposed, and 
the fruits seem to me ample for the time em- 
ployed. Charleston, Georgetown, and "Wilmington 
are incidents, while the utter demolition of the 
railroad system of South Carolina, and the utter 
destruction of the enemy's arsenals of Columbia, 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 279 

Cheraw, and Fayetteville, are the principals of the 
movement. These points were regarded as in- 
accessible to us, and now no place in the Con- 
federacy is safe against the army of the west. 
Let Lee hold on to Eichmond, and we will destroy 
his country ; and then of what use is Richmond ? 
He must come out and fight us on open ground, and 
for that we must ever be ready. Let him stick be- 
hind his parapet, and he will perish. . . . My 
army is as united and cheerful as ever, and as full 
of confidence in itself and its leaders." 

To Grant Sherman wrote, among other things : 
1 ' We have had foul weather, and roads that would 
have stopped travel to almost any other body of 
men I ever heard of. Our march was substantially 
what I designed — straight to Columbia, feigning on 
Branchville and Augusta. ... I could leave 
here to-morrow, but want to clear my columns of the 
vast crowd of refugees and negroes that encumber 
us. Some I will send down the river in boats, and 
the rest to Wilmington by land, under small escort, 
as soon as we are across Cape Fear River. I hope 
you have not been uneasy about us, and that the 
fruits of this march have been appreciated. . . . 
If I can now add Goldsboro without too much cost, 
I will be in a position to aid you materially in 
the spring campaign. Joseph Johnston may try to 
interpose between me here and Schofield about 
Newbern ; but I think he will not try that, but 
concentrate his scattered armies at Raleigh, and I 
will go straight at him as soon as I get our men re- 



280 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

clothed and our wagons reloaded. . . . I ex- 
pect to make a junction with Schofield in ten 
days." 

To reach Goldsboro, where the junction with 
Schofield was to be effected, so that the last play in 
the game of war might be made, was Sherman's 
next ambition. U I knew," he says, " that my 
special antagonist, General Johnston, was back, 
with part of his old army ; that he would not be 
misled by feints and false reports, and would some- 
how compel me to exercise more caution than I had 
hitherto done." 

How sincere an admirer of Johnston, even amid 
the din of war, General Sherman always was ! The 
latter was determined to give the Confederate leader 
as little time for reorganization as possible, and so 
crossed Cape Fear River, with his army, on the 
13th and 14th of March. 

Hardee's forces, infantry and cavalry, were now 
offering stubborn resistance to the invaders. On 
the 16th he was in a good position near Averysboro, 
before which General Slocum, commanding the left 
wing of the Union army, deployed a portion of the 
troops of the Twentieth Corps. Kilpatrick was on 
the right front with the cavalry. Sherman, coming 
up at this time, gave an important order. " Let a 
brigade make a wide circuit by the left," he said, 
"and catch this line in flank !" The movement 
met with success ; the first line of the enemy was 
swept away, and Sherman captured over two hun- 
dred men and Captain Macbeth' s battery of three 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 281 

guns. Hardee now retreated toward Smithfield. 
Among the Confederate wounded was a "pale, 
handsome young man," whose left arm, when 
Sherman visited the improvised hospital, had just 
been cut off near the shoulder. He spoke to the 
general in a feeble voice, announcing himself as 
Captain Macbeth, and saying he remembered Sher- 
man when the latter used to visit the house of his 
father, in Charleston. It is needless to add that 
the young Southern officer received every atten- 
tion. After the war Sherman had the pleasure of 
renewing his acquaintance with the captain, in St. 
Louis, under less painful circumstances. 

From Averysboro the left wing of the advancing 
army turned eastward, in the direction of Golds- 
boro. Sherman remained with this wing until the 
night of the 18th, when, within twenty-seven miles 
of Goldsboro, and five of Bentonsville, he crossed 
over to join Howard, of the right wing. He 
fondly supposed that all dangerous opposition was 
uow past. But for once he reckoned badly. The 
next day he received a message which told him 
that near Bentonsville Slocum and his left wing 
had unexpectedly come upon " Johnston's whole 
army!'- Johnston, indeed, knowing that Sher- 
man's forces were fairly well separated, and hoping 
to strike him a hard blow before he could make 
junction with Schofield, had concentrated all his 
forces at Bentonsville. 

Sherman sent word to Slocum to make a "de- 
fensive" fight, to save time, until he himself should 



282 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

arrive with reinforcements. Troops were at once 
turned toward Slocum, as the booming of cannon, 
unpleasantly loud, came iroin the direction of 
Bentonsville. Then ensued the spirited actions 
of the 19th and 20th, wherein the Confederates and 
Slocum' s left wing fought each other with con- 
spicuous gallantry, not to say, ferocity ; and the 
Northern troops several times were engaged on op- 
posite sides of the same breastworks, " so com- 
pletely were they surrounded by the Confederates." 
But the invaders held their ground ; reinforcements 
finally reached Slocuin, and Johnston was forced to 
retire. He found no further chance to inflict mis- 
chief on his foes. According to his own estimate, 
his loss aggregated about 2,350, including killed, 
wounded and missing, while the Union loss was 
1,600 in all. Sherman afterward thought that he 
had made a mistake in not trying to overwhelm 
Johnston's whole army — whose numbers he had 
overestimated. But he was content then to let the 
Confederate general go, while he himself pushed on 
to Goldsboro, which he soon reached, with his entire 
force (March 23d and 24th), and formed the desired 
junction with Terry and Schofield. 

Thus, as Sherman himself says with honest 
pride, was concluded ' l one of the longest and most 
important marches ever made by an organized army 
in a civilized country." The distance from Sa- 
vannah as it was marched, was over four hundred 
miles, and the route traversed was hampered by 
swamps, rivers and muddy roads which were often 



SAVANNAH AND THE CAROLINAS 283 

worse than no roads. Columbia, Cheraw and 
Fayetteville, with their munitions and supplies, 
had been captured along the march ; a vast amount 
of food and forage of value to the enemy had been 
consumed ; the railroads had been broken up ; the 
evacuation of Charleston and her harbor had been 
indirectly effected. And yet the army arrived in 
Goldsboro in "superb order," believing more 
firmly than ever in "Uncle Billy." 



CHAPTER XI 

ENDING THE WAR 

The finale of the war was now but a few days in 
the distance. Sherman, in his march, had ' ' drawn 
a line of steel from the Appalachians to the Atlan- 
tic" ; Sheridan had made a brilliant raid north of 
the James River in Virginia ; and Grant, with a force 
of one hundred and twenty-five thousand men, was 
threatening the undaunted but doomed Lee, who de- 
fended the approaches to Richmond and Petersburg. 
With the coming of success the North had regained 
her old-time enthusiasm for the war ; the South was 
bleeding, sore, dispirited, tired. The " rebels" 
had fought with a courage that did honor to Ameri- 
can manhood, and called forth the admiration of 
their opponents. We speak of the admiration of 
the opponents who fought against them, not of stay- 
at-home bigots who called all Confederates " cowardly 
traitors." But bravery could do no more. The 
North, no less brave, had triumphed, fortunately for 
the whole Union 5 and the time was to come, after 
designing politicians had ceased to wave the 
" bloody shirt," when there would be a country 
united in fact as well as in theory. 1 

1 " The population of the South was growing tired of the man- 
ner in which the politicians were conducting the war. . . . 
Only the despairing courage of the leaders remained, and their 
dwindling retinue. The means of carrying on the struggle had 
been exhausted." — " Bird's Eye View of our Civil War." 



ENDING THE WAE 285 

Though the end of the contest was apparently in 
view, there was still some important work to be done. 
After his arrival at Goldsboro Sherman determined 
to go in person to City Point, where he could have 
an interview with General Grant. So, leaving Gen- 
eral Schofield in chief command, he started north- 
ward on a locomotive ; then took a steamer at More- 
head City, sailed along the coast to Fortress Mon- 
roe, and from there up the James River to City Point. 
Here, on the afternoon of March 27th, Sherman 
found Grant, with his family and staff, occupying a 
"pretty group of huts," on the banks of the river, 
and, of course, was most cordially received. After 
an interview lasting for more than an hour, Grant 
casually remarked that President Lincoln was then 
on board the River Queen, a steamer lying at the 
City Point wharf, and proposed that they should call 
upon him. This they did ; Lincoln was delighted to 
see Sherman ; conversed with him freely about the 
Atlanta and Carolina campaigns, and the ' i march to 
the sea ; " and, with his keen sense of humor ever to 
the fore, wished to know all about the peculiarities, 
makeshifts and whims of the famous "bummers." 
He was somewhat disturbed, however, by the idea 
that some accident might happen to Sherman's 
army while the general was away< The latter ex- 
plained to him that the army was "snug and com- 
fortable," collecting food and supplies for the farther 
march northward ; and that General Schofield was in 
every way competent to command in his own ab- 
sence, hearing which Lincoln seemed to be relieved. 



286 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

When they returned to Grant's headquarters, and 
had taken afternoon tea with Mrs. Grant, that lady 
asked : < ' And did you see Mrs. Lincoln ! ' ' " Why 
no," said Grant; "I did not ask for her." "I 
didn't even know she was on board," added Sher- 
man. "Well, you are a pretty pair," cried Mrs. 
Grant ; "your neglect was unpardonable ! " 

The next morning Grant and Sherman, accom- 
panied by Admiral Porter, called upon Mr. and 
Mrs. Lincoln on the Eiver Queen. The latter 
"begged to be excused," but the President received 
them as pleasantly as before. Grant explained how 
he was closing in upon Lee, and Sherman told 
Lincoln that his own army, at Goldsboro, was strong 
enough to fight Lee's and Johnston's armies com- 
bined, "provided General Grant could come up 
within a day or so, ' ' etc. 

Lincoln said, more than once, "there has been 
blood enough shed already," and inquired if it were 
riot possible to avoid another battle. "We can't 
control that event," answered Sherman. "That 
necessarily rests with the enemy." He then asked 
the President if he " was all ready for the end of the 
war" ; if he knew "what was to be done with the 
rebel armies when defeated" ; and what was to 
be the fate of Jefferson Davis and his colleagues. 
Lincoln answered that he was * ' all ready ' ' for the 
close of the contest, and anxious to see the Confeder- 
ate soldiers back at home, and at work. As to Mr. 
Davis he intimated that if the Confederate President 
would leave the country "unbeknown" to him — 



ENDING THE WAR 287 

the expression was used in one of his apropos stories 
— he would be relieved from an embarrassing situa- 
tion. ! 

Sherman says — and his very words should be 
quoted : " He [Lincoln] distinctly authorized me to 
assure Governor Vance and the people of North 
Carolina that as soon as the rebel armies laid down 
their arms, and resumed their civil pursuits, they 
would at once be guaranteed all their rights as 
citizens of a common country, and that to avoid 
anarchy the state governments then in existence, with 
their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him 
as the government de facto till Congress could provide 
others." Sherman, who never saw the President 
again, parted from him with the idea that Lincoln 
desired to have the war ended as soon as possible ; 
"to restore all the men of both sections to their 
homes" ; and to behold once again a peaceful, re- 
united country. And we can quite believe that Lin- 
coln, who had neither malice nor a petty spirit of tri- 
umph in his nature, was ready to bind up the gaping 
wounds of the South, and to act — as he would have 
acted had he lived— the part of the Great Reconciler. 

In view of future events, it is well to note what the 
two witnesses of this now historic interview between 
Lincoln and Sherman afterward said about it. 
Grant in his " Personal Memoirs," records that 
" General Sherman had met Mr. Lincoln at City 
Point . . . and knew what Mr . Lincoln had said 

'See Oberholtzer's ''Abraham Lincoln," in the American 
Crisis Series. 



288 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHBBMAN 

to the Peace Commissi oners when he met them at 
Hampton Roads, viz. : that before he could enter 
into negotiations with them they would have to agree 
to two points : one being that the Union should be 
preserved, and the other that slavery should be 
abolished, and if they were ready to concede these 
two points he was almost ready to sign his name to a 
blank piece of paper, and permit them to fill out the 
balance of the terms upon which we would live to- 
gether." ' 

It is safe to infer from the above, although Grant 
does not actually say so, that Mr. Lincoln had ex- 
pressed practically the same views to General Sher- 
man as he had done in the presence of Messrs. 
Stephens, Campbell and Hunter. 

What Admiral Porter has to note of the interview 
(written a year after it occurred, and dated at the 
Annapolis Naval Academy) is much more detailed, 
although no stronger, perhaps, in the way of infer- 
ence. The admiral says in his statement that he 
took notes of the meeting at the time, and is glad 
he did so, owing to what subsequently occurred — 
Joseph Johnston's surrender to Sherman, and " Stan- 
ton's ill-conduct 77 toward the latter, which "tended 
to cast odium" on him for allowing "such liberal 
terms to Johnston." And in the account that fol- 
lows Porter writes — we give only a portion of his 
statement — that in his opinion < ' Mr. Lincoln came 

1 This Hampton Roads Conference, which proved useless. 
had taken place early in February, when the Southern "Peace 
Commissioners " were Alexander H. Stephens, Judge Campbell, 
and R. M. T. Hunter. 



ENDING THE WAR 289 

down to City Point with the most liberal views to- 
ward the rebels. He felt confident that we would 
be successful, and was willing that the enemy should 
capitulate on the most favorable terms. ... He 
wanted peace on almost any terms, and there is no 
knowing what proposals he might have been willing 
to listen to. His heart was tenderness throughout, 
and, as long as the rebels laid down their arms, he 
did not care how it was done. I do not know how 
far he was influenced by General Grant, but I pre- 
sume, from their long conferences, that they must 
have understood each other perfectly, and that the 
terms given to Lee after his surrender were author- 
ized by Mr. Lincoln. . . . Indeed, the Presi- 
dent more than once told me what he supposed the 
terms would be : if Lee and Johnston surrendered, 
he considered the war ended, and that all the other 
rebel forces would lay down their arms at once. 

" After hearing General Sherman's account of his 
own position, and that of Johnston, at that time, 
the President expressed fears that the rebel gen- 
eral would escape south again by the railroads, and 
that General Sherman would have to chase him anew, 
over the same ground 5 but the general [Sherman] 
pronounced this to be impracticable. He remarked, 
' I have him where he cannot move without break- 
ing up his army, which, once disbanded, can never 
again be got together ; and I have destroyed the 
Southern railroads, so that they cannot be used again 
for a long time.' General Grant remarked, 'What 



290 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

is to prevent their laying the rails again ? ' ' Why,' 
said General Sherman, ' my hummers don't do things 
by halves. Every rail, after having been placed 
over a hot fire, has been twisted as crooked as a 
ram's horn, and they never can be used again.' 

"The conversation between the President and 
General Sherman about the terms of surrender to be 
allowed Joseph Johnston, continued. Sherman en- 
ergetically insisted that he could command his own 
terms, and that Johnston would have to yield to his 
demands ; but the President was very decided about the 
matter, and insisted that the surrender of Johnston's 
army must be obtained on any terms. . . . Sher- 
man, as a subordinate officer, yielded his views to 
those of the President, and the terms of capitulation 
between himself and Johnston were exactly in ac- 
cordance with Mr. Lincoln's wishes. Re could not 
have done anything which would have pleased the Presi- 
dent better. 

"Mr. Lincoln did, in fact, arrange the (so consid- 
ered) liberal terms offered General Joseph Johnston, 
and, whatever may have been General Sherman's 
private views, I feel sure that he yielded to the 
wishes of the President, in every respect. It was 
Mr. Lincoln's policy that was carried out, and, had 
he lived long enough, he would have been but too 
glad to have acknowledged it. Had Mr. Lincoln 
lived, Secretary Stanton would have issued no false 
telegraphic dispatches, in the hope of killing off an- 
other general in the regular army — one who by his 



ENDING THE WAR 291 

success had placed himself in the way of his own 
succession." 

But we are anticipating. Let us chronicle that 
General Sherman was back at Goldsboro on the 
evening of the 30th of March, and at once began 
the reorganization and the revictualing of his army, 
so as to continue the march northward. It was then 
thought that he might be obliged to give one great 
battle to the combined forces of Lee and Johnston. 
A few days later the glad news reached Goldsboro 
that both Richmond and Petersburg had fallen 
(April 2d and 3d). Lee had retreated, and with 
his tired, hungry forces, was hurrying along toward 
the Danville Railroad, hoping that he might form a 
junction with Johnston, whose army was known to 
be at Smithfield, on Sherman's front. Then there 
came a cipher telegram to the latter from Grant, 
dated April 5th. "All indications now are," he 
said, "that Lee will attempt to reach Danville 
with the remnant of his force. ... I will push 
on to Burkesville, and, if a stand is made at Dan- 
ville, will, in a very few days, go there. If you can 
possibly do so, push on from where you are, and let 
us see if we cannot finish the job with Lee's and 
Johnston's armies." 

The 10th of April found Sherman, with his army, 
on the move northward ; the next day he was in 
Smithfield. But there was no Johnston ; he had re- 
treated quickly. On the morning of the 13th, Sher- 
man entered Raleigh. The whole situation had 
changed wonderfully within a few hours. After 



292 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

leaving Smithfield the general received a message 
from Grant, at Appomattox, announcing that Lee 
had surrendered his whole army. Sherman knew 
that the war was now over — unless Johnston 
should prolong it by resorting to " guerilla" tactics 
— and he issued a jubilant special field order. 
a Glory to God and our country, and all honor to 
our comrades in arms, toward whom we are march- 
ing," he said. " A little more labor, a little more 
toil on our part, the great race is won, and our gov- 
ernment stands regenerated, after four long years of 
war." 

While at Ealeigh, Sherman received a welcome 
letter from General Johnston. 1 " The results of the 
recent campaign in Virginia," he wrote from 
Greensboro, l i have changed the relative military 
condition of the belligerents. I am, therefore, 
induced to address you in this form the inquiry 
whether, to stop the further effusion of blood and 
devastation of property, you are willing to make a 
temporary suspension of active operations and to 
communicate to Lieutenant-General Grant, com- 
manding the armies of the United States, the 
request that he will take like action in regard to 
other armies, the object being to permit the civil 
authorities to enter into the needful arrangements to 
terminate the existing war. ' ' 

When General Johnston had heard of Lee's sur- 
render he admitted, in a conversation with General 
Beauregard, that the Southern Confederacy was 
1 Dated April 13th. 



ENDING THE WAR 293 

overthrown. Afterward, in an interview with 
Jefferson Davis and members of his cabinet, held at 
Greensboro, Johnston represented that the sources 
of the Confederacy were exhausted, so far as pros- 
ecuting the contest any farther was concerned, and 
urged Mr. Davis to exercise at once * ' the only 
function of government still in his possession" — 
that of opening negotiations for peace. The others 
present were then desired by the Confederate Presi- 
dent to express their opinions. ' ' General Brecken- 
ridge, Mr. Mallory, and Mr. Eeagan, thought that 
the war was decided against us j and that it was 
absolutely necessary to make peace. Mr. Benjamin 
expressed the contrary opinion. The latter made a 
speech for war, much like that of Sempronius in 
Addison's 'Cato.'" 1 And the result was that 
Jefferson Davis consented, although most unwill- 
ingly, to Johnston's opening negotiations with Gen- 
eral Sherman. 

Davis was an irreconcilable to the bitter end 
of the struggle. Even at this interview, and 
later, he cherished a hope that the war was not 
over. He says, speaking of this crisis: "I had 
reason to believe that the spirit of the army in 
North Carolina was unbroken, for, though sur- 
rounded by circumstances well calculated to depress 
and discourage them, I had learned that they 
earnestly protested to their officers against the sur- 
render which rumor informed them was then in 
contemplation. If any shall deem it a weak cre- 
1 Johnston, " Narrative of Military Operations." 



294 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

dulity to confide in such reports, something may be 
allowed to an intense love for the Confederacy, to a 
thorough conviction that its fall would involve 
ruin, both material and moral, and to a confidence 
in the righteousness of our cause, which, if equally 
felt by my compatriots, would make them do and 
dare to the last extremity." Davis also labored 
under the hallucination that many members of the 
Army of Northern Virginia would, if called upon, 
gladly return to the fray. J 

But Johnston knew, as Jefferson Davis did not, 
or would not know, that the South was exhausted, 
ruined, and could not, even if she would, continue 
the war. We cannot help admiring Davis for his 
dislike to admit that he was beaten, yet Johns- 
ton and Lee, who shrank from causing the South any 
more useless bloodshed, and who were willing to 
bury all their hopes and personal ambitions, are to- 
day much more heroic and attractive figures than 
the unreasoning President of the Confederacy. 

When Sherman received Johnston's letter he 
immediately replied (April 14th), that he was 
ready to confer as to a suspension of hostilities. 
He agreed to "abide by the same terms and con- 
ditions ' ' as were made by Generals Grant and Lee at 
Appomattox Court House, and, furthermore, to 
suspend the movement of any troops from the 
direction of Virginia. Three days later, when 
Sherman was starting out to meet Johnston at a 

1 u The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," Vol. 
II, p. 680. 



ENDING THE WAR 295 

point midway between the Union advance at Dur- 
ham and the Confederate rear at Hillsboro, he 
received a dispatch in cipher announcing the 
assassination of Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, Wash- 
ington, on the evening of the 14th of April. Dread- 
ing the effect that the news might have on the army 
he kept the gruesome telegram secret until his 
return to Raleigh in the afternoon. He feared that 
the soldiers, maddened by the thought of the mur- 
der, might try to retaliate upon the innocent 
inhabitants of the city. When he finally announced 
Lincoln's death, he was pleased that the sorrow 
over it did not lead to a spirit of revenge— for he 
felt that one single word of his would have laid the 
city in ashes, and "turned its whole population 
houseless upon the country, if not worse." Thus 
Sherman, with the telegram securely hidden in his 
pocket, started out to meet his antagonist. He little 
realized how his own negotiations with Johnston 
would be marred by the death of the man whom he 
had seen, so recently, filled with a sort of pity for 
the stricken South, and animated by the highest 
hopes of reconciliation. Sherman himself had not 
much of this sentiment, as we know, but he remem- 
bered the words of the late President, and resolved, 
perhaps not with worldly wisdom, to carry out the 
Lincoln policy. 

Sherman and Johnston held their first conference 
in a farmhouse. One would dearly love to have 
seen these two veterans as they confronted each 
other, — the first a conqueror, but unassuming; the 



296 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

second the conquered, yet making a manly front to 
the end. Colonel Nichols, who accompanied Sher- 
man to the rendezvous, speaks of meeting Wade 
Hampton, who had a beard u unnaturally black" 
and describes General Johnston as a man of strik- 
ing appearance. He was dressed " in a neat, gray 
uniform, which harmonized gracefully with a full 
beard and mustache of silvery whiteness, partly 
concealing a genial and generous mouth, that must 
have become habituated to a kindly smile. His 
eyes, dark brown in color, varied in expression — 
now intense and sparkling, and then soft with ten- 
derness, or twinkling with humor. . . . The 
general cast of the features gave an expression of 
goodness and manliness, mingling a fine nature with 
the decision and energy of the capable soldier." ! 

Captain George W. Pepper, another eye witness 
of this meeting between the two commanders, speaks 
of Johnston as " venerable, with intermingled gray, 
in close-cropped hair and beard." He lifted his 
hat continually to the officers in blue, "who ad- 
mired his military bearing, with coat closely 
buttoned to his chin." But he adds: u For my 
part I thought our own chieftain [Sherman] ugly as 
he is called, a far better looking man, taller, 
younger, and more commanding." 

As soon as Sherman and Johnston were alone, the 
former showed the Confederate the despatch an- 
nouncing Lincoln's assassination. "The perspira- 
tion came out in large drops on his forehead," 
1 " The Story of the Great March." 



ENDING THE WAE 297 

records Sherman, "and he did not attempt to con- 
ceal his distress." He denounced the act as "a 
disgrace to the age," and hoped his rival did not 
" charge it to the Confederate government." l Sher- 
man answered that he felt sure neither Johnston 
nor Lee, nor the officers generally of the Confederate 
army could be privy to such an act, but that he 
could not say as much for Jefferson Davis and "men 
of that stripe." Sherman, of course, had no right 
to cast any suspicion upon Davis, but at that time 
there was a disposition (not altogether confined to 
the North, be it noted) to ascribe all the woes of 
the country to the unsuccessful head of the Con- 
federacy. 

This conference, in which Johnston frankly ad- 
mitted that any further fighting would be " murder," 
was followed by another interview between the gen- 
erals, held the next day. Then Johnston assured 
Sherman that he had obtained authority over all the 
Confederate armies still in the field — these included 
Taylor's forces in Louisiana and Texas, and certain 
other troops in Alabama and Georgia — and that 
they would "obey his orders to surrender on the 
same terms as his own." He argued that the Con- 
federates, if they made peace, should be given some 
definite assurance of their "political rights" after 
their surrender. Later General Breckinridge joined 
the conference (after the Union general had stipu- 
lated that he was to be admitted as a Confederate 
officer, not as the Confederate secretary of war), 
1 " Memoirs of General William T. Sherman," Vol. II, p. 349. 



298 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

and he likewise touched upon the uneasiness of the 
Southern soldiers as to their u political rights," in 
case of surrender. 

Already, at the first interview, when Sherman 
had offered him the same terms as those given 
by Grant to General Lee, Johnston had expressed 
the hope that something more could be secured. 
"I suggested . . . that, instead of a partial 
suspension of hostilities," relates Johnston, u we 
might, as other generals had done, arrange the 
terms of a permanent peace, and among other pre- 
cedents reminded him of the preliminaries of Leoben, 
and the terms in which Napoleon, then victorious, 
proposed negotiation to the Archduke Charles ; and 
the sentiment he expressed that the civic crown 
earned by preserving the life of one citizen confers 
truer glory than the highest achievements merely 
military." Sherman replied (so Johnston adds), 
that he was anxious to end the war and restore the 
Union, and spoke of his recent interview with Mr. 
Lincoln. 

At the second conference with Johnston, Breckin- 
ridge seems to have dwelt upon this civil phase of 
the proposed surrender with an eloquence and plausi- 
bility that deeply impressed Sherman. Indeed, 
the contention of Johnston that the "political 
rights" of the Confederates should be observed 
seems to fall in with Lincoln's idea that, once the 
Union was recognized and slavery abolished, every- 
thing should be done to conciliate the South, and 
induce the people to resume the pursuits of peace. 



ENDING THE WAR 299 

Thus, with the wishes of Lincoln in his mind, ' and 
intending to be as true to his country as man could 
be, Sherman (neither noting the bitterness engen- 
dered in the North by Lincoln's murder, nor realiz- 
ing that his new masters, Andrew Johnson and 
Edwin M. Stanton, were not persons of ' i sweetness 
and light''), quickly drew up a u Memorandum, " or 
"Basis of Agreement," which was designed to end 
the war. This " Agreement," which Johnston and 
Sherman thereupon signed, read as follows : 

"(1) The contending armies now in the field to 
maintain the statu* quo until notice is given by the 
commanding general of any one to its opponent, and 
reasonable time — say, forty-eight hours — allowed. 

"(2) The Confederate armies now in existence 
to be disbanded and conducted to their several state 
capitals, there to deposit their arms and public- 
property in the state arsenal ; and each officer and 
man to execute and file an agreement to cease from 
acts of war, and to abide the action of the state and 
Federal authority. . . . 

"(3) The recognition, by the Executive of the 
United States, of the several state governments, on 
their officers and legislatures taking the oaths pre- 
scribed by the Constitution of the United States ; 
and, where conflicting state governments have re- 

141 There were many theories on the subject [of reconstruc- 
tion], which were advocated with great vehemence and passion. 
Mr. Lincoln did not adopt any particular theory as to any 
one mode by which the national authority could be restored. 
. . . He was no mere theorist, but a practical statesman, 
looking ever for the wisest means to secure the end." — Isaac N. 
Arnold. 



300 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

suited from the war, the legitimacy of all shall be 
submitted to the Supreme Court of the Uuited States. 

"(4) The re-establishment of all the Federal 
courts iu the several states, with powers as defined 
by the Constitution of the United States and of the 
states respectively. 

k k (5) The people and inhabitants of all the states 
to be guaranteed, so far as the Executive can, their 
political rights and franchises, as well as their rights 
of person and property, as defined by the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and of the states respect- 
ively. 

u (6) The Executive authority of the govern- 
ment of the United States not to disturb any of the 
people by reason of the late war, so long as they 
live in peace and quiet, abstain from acts of armed 
hostility, and obey the laws in existence at the place 
of their residence. 

" (7) In general terms, — the war to cease ; a gen- 
eral amnesty, so far as the Executive of the United 
States can command, on condition of the disband- 
ment of the Confederate armies, the distribution of 
the arms, and the resumption of peaceful pursuits 
by the officers and men hitherto composing said 
armies. 

"Not being fully empowered by our respective 
principals to fulfil these terms, we individually and 
officially pledge ourselves to promptly obtain the 
necessary authority, and to carry out the above 
programme." 

It must be admitted that the provisions of this 



ENDING THE WAR 301 

"Agreement" were pretty wide in scope, from a 
political and " reconstruction " view-point, and that 
they went farther than was wise into civic matters. 
Sherman was an astute soldier ; not an astute states- 
man. Still, the "Agreement" was drawn up by 
him in all honesty and sincerity, and it was stipu- 
lated that it must be submitted for approval, so far 
as the North was concerned, to the leaders of the 
administration in Washington. 

But the administration promptly disapproved the 
" Agreement" when it was referred to it through 
General Grant. Andrew Johnson and Mr. Stanton 
were in no mood for conciliation ; they were, on the 
contrary, in a vindictive frame of mind, and they 
believed, honestly enough, that Sherman had ex- 
ceeded his authority by dealing with the civic con- 
sequences of surrender. Even General Grant, ever 
friendly to Sherman, wrote to him after reading the 
terms, that he hardly believed it possible that they 
could be approved when he should forward them to 
Washington. 

The "Agreement" was rejected on the folio wing- 
grounds : 

First : That it was an exercise of authority not 
vested in General Sherman, and on its face showed 
that both he and Johnston knew that Sherman had 
no authority to enter into any such arrangement. 

Second : That it was an acknowledgment of the 
' k rebel government. ' ' 

Third : It was understood to re-establish Confed- 
erate state governments that had been overthrown, 



302 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

and placed arms in the hands of the Confederates, at 
their respective capitals, "which might be used as 
soon as the armies of the United States were dis- 
banded, and to conquer and subdue loyal states." 

Fourth : By the restoration of the Confederate 
authority in their respective states, the Confederates 
would be enabled to re-establish slavery. 

Fifth: It might furnish a ground of responsibil- 
ity, by the Federal government, to pay the Con- 
federate debt, and "subject loyal citizens of the 
rebel states to debts contracted by rebels in the 
name of the states.' 7 

Sixth : It put in dispute the existence of loyal 
state governments, and the new state of West Vir- 
ginia, which had been recognized by every depart- 
ment of the United States government. 

Seventh : It practically abolished the confisca- 
tion laws, and "relieved rebels of every degree, 
who had slaughtered our people, from all pains and 
penalties for their crimes." 

Eighth : It gave terms that had been " deliber- 
ately, repeatedly, and solemnly rejected by Presi- 
dent Lincoln," and "better terms than the rebels 
had ever asked in their most prosperous condition." 

Ninth : It formed no basis of true and lasting 
peace, "but relieved the rebels from the pressure 
of our victories, and left them in condition to renew 
their efforts to overthrow the United States govern- 
ment, and subdue the loyal states, whenever their 
strength was recruited, and any opportunity should 
offer." 



ENDING THE WAR 303 

If we view these objections in an impartial spirit 
we are struck with the mixture of common sense 
and vindictive nonsense which they exhibit. It 
was fair to assume, for instance, that the ' ' Agree- 
ment" might be stretched, or distorted, at some 
future day into a ground of responsibility for Con- 
federate debts. But it was seeking trouble to sup- 
pose that it might enable the Southerners to re-es- 
tablish slavery, and it was savagely suggestive of 
Stanton to speak of our late opponents as guilty of 
"slaughter." 

Of course the administration had a perfect right, 
and some reason, to disapprove the "Agreement." 
But Mr. Stanton had no right to disapprove it, as 
he did, in a manner that was brutally offensive 
to Sherman, and which indicated that he consid- 
ered the general who had performed such wonders 
in Georgia as little better than a traitor or a criminal. 
With the arbitrary, cruel spirit that sometimes dis- 
tinguished his treatment of friends as well as foes, 
the secretary of war at once sent to General Dix, 
who gave it to the newspapers, an announcement 
setting forth the rejection of the treaty ; showing the 
nine reasons of objection, as already stated ; insinuat- 
ing that Sherman might connive at the escape of 
Jefferson Davis, loaded with "plunder," into 
Mexico or Europe ; and stating that General Grant 
had been sent to North Carolina to direct hostilities 
against Johnston. The paper, which was most in- 
sulting in its tone toward Sherman, also quoted, as a 
rebuke to him, the letter which Lincoln had sent 



304 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

to Grant, more than a month before Lee's sur 
render, in Stanton's name. That letter, as we all 
remember, instructed Grant not to decide or confer 
upon any political questions. " Such questions the 
President holds in his own hands, and will submit 
them to no military conferences or conventions." 

The quotation of this letter to Grant (which had 
been written on the 3d of March) seemed a trump 
card against Sherman. But the general aptly says, 
in his " Memoirs" that the publication of the bulle- 
tin was an outrage, since Stanton had failed to com- 
municate to him in advance, as was his duty, the 
purpose of the administration to limit the negotia- 
tions to purely military matters ; but, on the con- 
trary, had authorized him, at Savannah, to control all 
matters, civil and military. " By this bulletin he 
implied that I had previously been furnished with a 
copy of his despatch of March 3d, to General 
Grant, which was not so ; and he gave warrant to the 
impression, which was sown broadcast, that I might 
be bribed by banker's gold to permit Davis to es- 
cape-" 

Indeed, the administration seemed to have gone 
crazy on the subject of Sherman and his unfortunate 
" Agreement," and was quite ready to heap all 
manner of insult upon him. Halleck, his old friend, 
even went so far as to issue instructions that all 
orders from Sherman were to be disregarded, and a 
great many worthy people in the North, who had 
heretofore been engaged in singing the general's 
praises, now shook their heads and called him un- 



ENDING THE WAR 305 

complimentary names. Some of these people be- 
lieved, particularly since the death of Lincoln, that 
even hanging was too good for the " miserable 

rebels" a sentiment which Stanton doubtless 

shared with them. It was a bitter moment for 
Sherman, and though his unpopularity was but 
shortlived, and the cloud of suspicion which hung 
over him soon blew away, he could never forget 
the brutal treatment that he received at the hands 
of the Washington authorities, even if he did for- 
give the authors of it. ' 

"Some people," writes Grant, "went so far as to 
denounce him [Sherman] as a traitor— a most pre- 
posterous term to apply to a man who had rendered 
so much service as he had, even supposing he had 
made a mistake in granting such terms as he did to 
Johnston and his army. ... But the feeling 
against Sherman died out very rapidly, and it was 
not many weeks before he was restored to the fullest 
confidence of the American people." Early in May 
John Sherman wrote to his distinguished brother 
that while the public had disapproved the gen- 
eral's "Agreement," yet the " gross and damnable 
perversion of many of the papers," and their ar- 
raignment of his motives, had been even more se- 
verely condemned. " For a time, ' ' says the senator, 
" you lost all the popularity gained by your achieve- 

1 " Mr Stanton was deeply indignant at the general for med- 
dling with matters beyond his jurisdiction No doubt his in- 
dignation was intensified by his dislike of Sherman. The two 
men were antagonistic by nature. ' '-Charles A. Dana, in Rec- 
ollections of the Civil War." 



306 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

nients. But now the reaction has commenced, and 
you find some defenders ; many more to denounce 
the base and malicious conduct of a gang of envious 
scamps, who seized upon this matter as a pretext 
for calumny. What to make of Stanton I don't 
know." The writer also observed : "The conduct 
of Grant is deserving of the highest praise. I shall 
always feel grateful to him." 

Grant had, indeed, acted with the rarest delicacy 
and tact when sent down to North Carolina. He 
met Sherman at Ealeigh, told him to effect 
a new agreement with Johnston, on the basis of 
Lee's surrender, and then got away as quickly as 
possible, so that his presence might not prove hu- 
miliating to Sherman. As a result the latter met 
Johnston again (April 26th) and the two signed a 
" military convention" devoid of the political 
phases of the rejected paper. The new agreement 
was simply this : 

"(1) All acts of war on the part of the troops 
under General Johnston's command to cease from 
this date. 

"(2) All arms and public property to be depos- 
ited at Greensboro, and delivered to an ordnance- 
officer of the United States army. 

"(3) Rolls of all the officers and men to be 
made in duplicate. . , . Each officer and man 
to give his individual obligation in writing not 
to take up arms against the government of the 
United States, until properly released from this 
obligation. 



ENDING THE WAE 307 

"(4) The side-arms of officers, and their private 
horses and baggage, to be retained by thera. 

"(5) This being done, all the officers and men 
will be permitted to return to their homes, not to be 
disturbed by the United States authorities, so long- 
as they observe their obligation and the laws in force 
where they may reside." 

This convention, and certain "supplemental 
terms" made between Schofield and Johnston, to 
facilitate the return of the Confederate soldiers to 
their homes, were far different in scope from the 
wide privileges originally granted by Sherman. 
Thus closed the war : the South, shattered, bleed- 
ing, after a struggle unexampled in the history of 
the world for its bravery, prepared to bind up her 
wounds ; the Union soldiers, like brave men, pre- 
pared to forget and forgive ; the Northern politician 
prepared to send the receptive "carpet-bagger" 
into Dixie, and fasten upon her citizens the delights 
of negro suffrage, and "reconstruction." 

Johnston and Sherman, who ever maintained for 
each other the highest admiration, took a friendly 
farewell. Johnston announced to the South that he 
had surrendered in order to spare the blood of his 
army, to prevent farther "devastation and ruin," 
and to " avoid the crime of waging a hopeless war." 
How much more graceful such an exit from the stage 
of the Confederacy than that of the man who hated 
him — Jefferson Davis ! 

Sherman now began the movement of his army to 
the North. By the 20th of May all his forces were 



308 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

camped about Alexandria, Ya. General Meade's 
Army of the Potomac had possession of the camps 
above, opposite Washington and Georgetown. 

The war had been the grave of many military 
reputations ; it also made a few soldiers famous for 
all time. And the greatest of these were Ulysses S. 
Grant, Robert E. Lee, and William Tecumseh 
Sherman. 



CHAPTEE XII 

PEACEFUL DAYS 

After reaching Alexandria General Sherman 
paid a visit to Washington, where he had a recep- 
tion of the most cordial sort. The reaction in his 
favor had indeed set in ; he was no longer called a 
traitor, or an " imbecilic tool" of Breckinridge 
and Joe Johnston 5 the North soon forgot his alleged 
indiscretion, and remembered only that he was one 
of the Titanic heroes of the war. Among those 
who welcomed the warrior most effusively was 
Andrew Johnson, who hastened to assure him that 
he had been entirely ignorant of Mr. Stanton's 
abusive " bulletin" until he had seen it in the 
papers. Different members of the cabinet made 
similar assurances ; no one showed the least desire 
to shoulder any responsibility in the matter. The 
general, with his perennial sense of humor, no 
doubt laughed in his sleeve at this sudden desire to 
"come in out of the rain." But he did not laugh 
when he thought of Stanton, or of General Halleck, 
who had played into Stanton's hands during the 
"Agreement" episode. He had already declined 
proffers of reconciliation from Halleck, and he now 
sternly refused the good offices of General Grant to 
secure peace between himself and Stanton. ' 1 1 have 
been publicly insulted," said Sherman, "and I shall 



310 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

resent the insult as publicly." The secretary of 
war, on his part, made no advances, not being, as 
we know, a strong imbiber of the milk of human 
kindness. Indeed, it was said, that the uneven 
temper of the secretary had been made more acid 
than usual through fear that he was marked out for 
assassination. It is possible that his physical cour- 
age did not always keep pace with his moral courage 
— a virtue which he generally displayed to the point 
of boorishness. 

Just at this time a grand review of the armies 
then near Washington was ordered. General Meade 
and the Army of the Potomac paraded before 
President Johnson and his cabinet on the 23d of 
May : the next morning Sherman's army made its 
never-to-be forgotten progress through the streets of 
the capital. The day was worthy of the occasion ; 
the people, forgetful of the dead who had fallen 
—forgetful, for the nonce, even of Lincoln — were 
in gala mood. They were not unfaithful to those 
who had passed beyond, but they were resolved, at 
this great moment, to enjoy only the glory of the 
pageant. The avenues were packed with people ; 
even the house-tops were black with spectators. 
At the head of the procession was General Sherman, 
accompanied by his staff. Clad in a resplendent 
uniform, he looked every inch the commander, and 
his charger's neck was covered with wreaths of 
flowers, placed there by admiring friends. Then 
came Howard, "his empty coat sleeve, pinned upon 
the breast, mutely proclaiming his deeds of courage." 



PEACEFUL DAYS 311 

After him rode Logan, " swarthy of complexion, 
with heavy black mustache, and eagle-eye, the 
image of a born soldier." Then followed Hazen, 
and Blair, and many more — but McPherson, Sher- 
man's old friend, was there only in memory. He 
could only join those ghostly ranks immortalized in 
Bret Harte's "Last Review" : 

11 And I saw a phantom army come 
With never a sonnd of fife or drum, 
But keeping time to a throbbing hum 
Of wailing and lamentation ; 

And so all night marched the nation's dead, 
With never a banner above them spread, 
Nor a badge, nor a motto brandished ; 
No mark — save the bare, uncovered head 

Of the silent bronze Reviewer ; 
With never an arch save the vaulted sky ; 
With never a flower save those that lie 
On the distant graves — for love could buy 

No gift that was purer nor truer. ' ' 

What a sight it must have been, this view of 
Sherman and his men ! Already did they belong- 
to history. "With heads erect and an air of in- 
describable sang froid, these men of the west 
stretched down Pennsylvania Avenue, with an easy, 
swinging gait, peculiar to themselves, acquired in 
long and rapid marches. They wore no holiday 
garb. The ragged and faded uniforms in which 
they had slept and marched, through the swamps 
of the Carolinas, still clung to their bodies, and 



312 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

they strode along as if proud to display them as 
badges of faithful service." ' How the spectators 
cheered them all, from Sherman down to the most 
valueless "bummer." 

No one appreciated the beauty and significance 
of this review more than did Sherman himself. 
When he reached the Treasury Building, and looked 
behind him at the marching columns, he was im- 
pressed by the magnificence of the sight — the com- 
pactness of the lines, and the array of glittering 
muskets, which looked like a solid mass of steel, 
"moving with the regularity of a pendulum." 
The general, as he passed the house of Mr. Seward, 
who had come so near sharing the late of Lincoln, 
saw and saluted the secretary of state, who sat at a 
window, feeble and swathed in bandages. Next he 
rode past the reviewing stand, saluting President 
Johnson ; and soon, on dismounting, joined the 
party on the platform itself. In addition to John- 
son there were on the stand General Grant, Mrs. 
Sherman, her father, Senator Ewing, Mr. Stanton, 
and many others. Sherman greeted each in turn, 
save the secretary of war. He relates that Stanton 
offered him his hand, but that he declined it 
publicly, — " and the fact was universally no- 
ticed." 2 But subsequently the two became recon- 

1 Hedley, " Marching Through Georgia." 

'Charles A. Daua was on the reviewing stand on that day, in 
his capacity of assistant secretary of war. He naturally watched 
the meeting between Stanton and Sherman, and he takes issue 
with the general as to what happened. He says in his 
44 Recollections," that Stanton made no motion to offer his 



PEACEFUL DAYS 313 

ciled : when Stanton was dying Sherman called at 
his home. 

The general took his post on the stand at the left 
of the President, and stood for nearly seven hours 
whilst the army of which he had been so proud — an 
army soon to dissolve into an historical memory — 
marched past the White House grounds. His eyes 
glistened as he gazed on his comrades. It was, in 
his judgment, the most magnificent army in ex- 
istence — not a mob. The world saw that it was 
an army in the proper sense, " well organized, well 
commanded and disciplined," and wondered not 
that it had " swept through the South like a 
tornado." If Sherman cared for triumph, and he 
was but human, he could never have asked for a 
fairer day than this. It was a glorious close to a 
glorious campaign. Not even the vindictive spirit 
of Stanton could deprive him of these fruits of 
victory. 

A few days later Sherman issued "general 
orders" bidding farewell to his army. "The time 
has come for us to part," he wrote. He reviewed 
briefly the record of his campaigns, and then ended 
with the valedictory : l i Your general now bids you 
farewell, with the full belief that, as in war you 
have been good soldiers, so in peace you will make 
good citizens ; and if, unfortunately, new war 
should arise in our country, ' Sherman's army ' will 

hand, or exchange salutations in any manner. "As the gen- 
eral passed Mr. Stanton gave him merely a slight forward mo- 
tion of the head, equivalent, perhaps, to a quarter of a bow.'' 



314 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

be the first to buckle on its old armor, and come 
forth to defend and maintain the government of our 
inheritance." 

William Tecumseh Sherman lived for a little more 
than a quarter of a century after the ending of the 
war. His autumnal years are not without interest 
of a certain kind, but they are curiously uneventful 
when compared with the startling color, the vivid 
picturesqueness, of the four years of conflict. This 
is but natural j when we dissociate the successful 
commander from the roar of battle, the boom of 
cannon, the midnight planning of a campaign 
within the dimly -lighted tent, we no longer find 
him the same heroic figure. The stage settings are 
wanting. We see our actor without the light, the 
tinsel, and scenic surroundings of the theatre. 

Nevertheless, the last twenty-five years of Sher- 
man's life were active, in a minor way, and quietly 
useful. After the passing of the grand review in 
Washington he spent a portion of the summer in 
Ohio, renewing friendships and talking over the 
events of the war, thence going to St. Louis to 
become commander of the ' ' Military Division of 
the Mississippi. ' ' Under general orders issued June 
27, 1865, the country had been divided into nine- 
teen departments and five military divisions, and the 
"Division of the Mississippi" was to include the 
Departments of the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas. 
To St. Louis he brought his family — he was anxious 
to " make their acquaintance," as he observed — and 
passed a very pleasant year, divided between the 



PEACEFUL DAYS 315 

routine of his office, study, inspection of posts, visits 
to Indian tribes, and other duties, and the prepara- 
tion of the papers which were to supply materials' 
for his "Memoirs," published a few years later. 

He maintained the same independent spirit as 
before, seemed to have no greater belief than of yore 
in the politicians, and was not in favor of the move 
which has led to forty years of unnecessary mischief 
— that of extending the suffrage to the Southern 
negroes. He writes, for instance, to John Sherman, 
that "negro equality will lead to endless strife, and 
to remove and separate the races will be a big job ; so 
any way we approach the subject it is full of diffi- 
culty. But it is better to study the case and adapt 
measures to it, than to lay down the theory or force 
facts to meet it." l 

At this time, Sherman chafed terribly, as so 
nervous, and high-strung a man would, at the tend- 
ency in the War Department, to concentrate power 
in that department at the expense of the generals of 
the army. He protested now, as he did later, when 
he became commander of the whole army, against 
what General Force, in his biography of Sherman, 
well calls a system which "practically resulted in 
making the staff bureaus independent of the military 
head of the army, and allowing an adj utant-general, 
who might have the ambition to do so, to use the 

1 " General Sherman . . . never acknowledged allegiance 
to any party, and resented all appearance of such allegiance. 
He opposed universal suffrage, and believed that extending it to 
negroes was but adding to an existing evil." — Rachel Sherman 
Thorndike, in l ' The Sherman Letters. ' ' 



316 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEEMAN 

whole power of the secretary of war and reduce the 
general-in-chief to a nullity." 

Sherman soon found himself brought, most un- 
willingly, into contact with the really petty squabbles 
in which President Johnson and Stanton, and later 
General Grant, became the important, if not the 
altogether ideal, figures. He was now lieutenant- 
general, having succeeded Grant in that position 
upon the latter 7 s appointment, in July, 1866, to be 
general of the army. These squabbles do not call 
for elaboration. How Johnson attempted to rid 
himself of Stanton, as secretary of war ; how Stanton 
resisted and Congress intervened ; how Grant re- 
fused to be made a "cat's paw" and would not 
accept the secretaryship for himself; how Johnson 
tried to send Grant on a mission to Mexico ; how 
Grant, suspecting sinister political motives, would 
not be made to go — all these incidents are now 
familiar history. It is more to the point to record 
that Sherman wisely resisted any attempt to have 
himself put at the head of the army, and the head 
of the War Department, and in his friendship for 
Grant, went so far as to go himself on the scorned 
mission — that of escort to the newly appointed 
American minister to Mexico. That minister was 
Lewis D. Campbell, of Ohio, who was sent to 
acknowledge President Juarez, and thus diplomatic- 
ally protest against the occupation of Mexico by 
the Emperor Maximilian. 

Throughout all these troubles and ' ' political 
nightmares" — troubles which show us the least 



PEACEFUL DAYS 317 

enviable phases of the history of our country — 
General Sherman kept a level head, despite his 
impetuosity and his habit of having opinions on 
every subject. Johnson, in his contests with Grant, 
and Stanton, and Congress, would have been very 
glad to use Sherman for his own purposes ; but the 
latter was wise enough to keep, so far as he could, 
to the strict duties of his army work, and to remain 
faithful to Grant under all circumstances. Grant, 
to be sure, was never a perfect man, particularly 
after the war, when love of power and money began 
to seize hold upon his once unpretentious soul ; but 
there was every reason why the two great generals 
should remain true to each other. When Sherman 
was appointed head of a commission empowered 
to hear the grievances of Indian tribes in conflict 
with the government, he threw his whole heart into 
the work, only too anxious, as he was, to escape the 
broils of so-called statesmanship. He visited these 
discontented tribes, and spoke to them, albeit in 
kindness, with the utmost frankness. The Indians 
were anxious to check the building of railroads, 
which frightened the buffalo herds ; Sherman told 
them that they could not expect to stop emigration or 
the improvements of white men in the far west. 
He urged the Indians to accept reservations of land, 
to learn to farm and raise cattle, and to submit as 
gracefully as possible to the inevitable westward 
movement of the Caucasian's star of empire. ' ' You 
cannot stop the locomotive any more than you can 
stop the sun or moon," he said. "You see for 



318 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

yourselves that the white men are collecting in all 
directions in spite of all you can do. The white 
men are taking all the good land. If you don't 
choose your homes now, it will be too late next 
year." 

The general was no hypocrite j he saw that the 
Indian was doomed on the American hemisphere, and 
he therefore held out to him no false hopes. And 
each year brings us nearer and nearer to the ex- 
tinction, as a race, of the real owners of this con- 
tinent. Sherman did what he could to relieve the 
situation — but that situation has always meant com- 
plete and unavoidable injustice to the Indian. The 
Anglo-Saxon may not be ethical, or sentimental, 
but he is always logical ; he always fulfills the 
natural law by crowding an inferior race to the wall 
— or to the reservation. He has ever pressed hard 
against the red man, and he will never, in his heart, 
recognize the equality of the black man. 

Disheartening as was this mission, yet it must 
have proved a pleasant contrast to the political con- 
ditions in which Sherman had so nearly become an 
actor. He had not forgotten the letters which he 
had written to President Johnson when the latter 
had planned to have him created a brevet general, 
and brought on to Washington. One of these let- 
ters (dated January 31, 1868), from which it is worth 
quoting had run, in part, as follows : 
" To the President : 

" Since our interview of yesterday I have given 
the subject of our conversation all my thoughts, and 



PEACEFUL DAYS 319 

I beg you will pardon my reducing the result to 
writing. 

"My personal preferences, if expressed, were to 
be allowed to return to St. Louis to resume my pres- 
ent command ; because my command was important, 
large, suited to my rank and inclination, and because 
my family was well provided for there, in house 
facilities, schools, living, and agreeable society. 

"Whilst, on the other hand, Washington was for 
many (to me) good reasons highly objectionable. 
Especially because it is the political capital of the 
country and focus of intrigue, gossip and slander. 
Your personal preferences were, as expressed, to 
make a new department east, adequate to my rank, 
with headquarters at Washington, and to assign me 
to its command — to remove my family here, and to 
avail myself of its schools, etc. j to remove Mr. 
Stanton from his office as secretary of war, and 
have me to discharge the duties. 



"It has been the rule and custom of our army 
since the organization of the government that the 
second officer of the army should be at the second 
(in importance) command, and remote from general 
headquarters. To bring me to Washington would 
put three heads to an army, — yourself, General 
Grant, and myself, — and we would be more than 
human if we were not to differ. In my judgment 
it would ruin the army, and would be fatal to one 
or two of us. 



320 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

"Generals Scott and Taylor proved themselves 
soldiers and patriots in the field, but Washington 
was fatal to both. ... I have been with Gen- 
eral Grant in the midst of death and slaughter- 
when the howls of people reached him after Shiloh ; 
when messengers were speeding to and fro between 
his army and Washington, bearing slanders to in- 
duce his removal before he took Vicksburg ; in 
Chattanooga, when the soldiers were stealing the 
corn of the starving mules to satisfy their own hun- 
ger ; at Nashville, when he was ordered to the i for- 
lorn hope ' to command the Army of the Potomac, 
so often defeated — and yet I never saw him more 
troubled than since he has been in Washington, and 
been compelled to read himself a 'sneak and de- 
ceiver 7 based on reports of four of the cabinet, and 
apparently with your knowledge. If this political 
atmosphere can disturb the equanimity of one so 
guarded, and so prudent, as he is, what will be 
the result with one so careless, so outspoken as 
I am? Therefore, with my consent, Washington 
never. 

" As to the secretary of war, his office is twofold. 
As cabinet officer he should not be there without 
your hearty, cheerful consent, and I believe that is 
the judgment and opinion of every fair-minded man. 
As the holder of a civil office, having the supervi- 
sion of monies appropriated by Congress, and of 
contracts for army supplies, I do think Congress, or 
the Senate by delegation from Congress, has a lawful 
right to be consulted. At all events, I would not 



PEACEFUL DAYS 321 

risk a suit or contest on that phase of the ques- 
tion." ' 

Fortunate for Sherman that he never fell in with 
any of the schemes of passionate, discredited Andrew 
Johnson — the man without a compass, without a 
party, without a brake upon his hates. 

Grant became President of the United States in 
March of 1869 ; on the day succeeding the inaugu- 
ration Sherman was appointed to command the 
United States army. He had previously taken a 
trip to the South, and found the journey in "every 
sense agreeable" — a fact which speaks well for the 
courtesy of the Southerners, who, naturally, had 
no reason to remember with enthusiasm the guest 
within their borders. But the feeling of the people 
in Dixie was much less bitter at that time than it 
became later, when the evils of negro franchise and 
" carpet-bag government" began to appear. Sher- 
man even visited the military academy at Alex- 
andria, La. Here he was received as an old friend, 
not as a conquering enemy ; and he found, in 
the main hall of the institution, his own portrait. 
The marble tablet which had reposed over the main 
door, bearing the inscription,— " By the Liberality of 
the General Government of the United States — The 
Union: Esto Perpetua" — the very inscription to 
which the general had referred in his official resig- 

1 The troubles with Stanton ended, as we know, in the im- 
peachment trial of Johnson for removing him, and the President 
secured, for want of the necessary two-thirds vote, an acquittal. 
General Schofield afterward became secretary of war. 



322 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEKMAN 

nation of the superintendency of the academy — had 
been taken out and was now broken in pieces. But 
Sherman was told that the same legend, this time 
cut on a tablet of iron, would be placed in the old 
niche above the door. 

His appointment to command the army, in 
place of Grant, obliged him to come to the much- 
despised Washington, and proved, in another way, 
too, not altogether conducive to his pleasure. Like 
Banquo's ghost, the old question as to the relative 
functions of the War Department and the general 
commanding would not down. At first Sherman 
flattered himself that a much needed reform in this 
matter was to be made, for the new President, who 
himself had often felt the evils of the old system, 
directed that the chiefs of staff corps and the vari- 
ous bureaus of the department should act directly 
under the orders of Sherman. The general was to 
be a real general, and not a figure-head, while the 
secretary would be shorn of some of his powers and 
influence. But the new secretary of war, General 
Eawlins (Grant's old-time friend and staff- officer, 
who succeeded General Schofield in the cabinet posi- 
tion) soon complained, as did many politicians, that 
the department was now subservient to the com- 
manding general, and that the secretary himself had 
become the real figure-head. The result was that 
Grant, whose views as President were often different 
from his views as lieutenant-general, and who him- 
self was becoming more and more fond of power and 



PEACEFUL DAYS 323 

its fruits, rescinded his reform orders. 1 Rawlins, 
and, after his death, the malodorous Belknap, re- 
verted to the old type of secretary, and Sherman 
found himself little more than an illustrious puppet. 

Sherman was disgusted, disheartened, but his pro- 
tests with Grant were of no avail. For once the 
strong friendship between the two men came near 
the breaking-point. Some time later, in the summer 
of 1871, he wrote to his brother : "My office has 
been by law stripped of all the influence and pres- 
tige it possessed under Grant, and even in matters 
of discipline and army control I am neglected, 
overlooked, or snubbed. " How a person of Sher- 
man's temperament must have writhed under this 
reversal to the bureaucratic power of the War 
Office ! In answer to this complaint John Sherman 
wrote back urging his brother to go on maintaining 
the same friendly relations with Grant — " for though 
he seems willing to strip your office of its power, yet 
I have no doubt he feels as warm an attachment for 
you, as, from his temperament, he can to any one.' 7 2 

It is a wonder that Sherman did not impetuously 
resign his commission, and break with Grant. But 
he kept calm, in spite of his disappointment. 

1 " His [Grant's] success as a soldier produced an entire 
change in his character. . . . After accepting the highest 
position in the army as a right, he entered upon the perform- 
ance of the duties of the highest civil position without fear. 
. . . He had the disposition, and only needed the oppor- 
tunity, to become a dictator. "—Hugh McCulloch in " Men and 
Measures of Half a Century." 

2 "The Sherman Letters," p. 333. 



324 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

From his grievances the general obtained a pleas- 
ant respite in a leave of absence for a European 
trip, which he took in the autumn and winter of 
1871 and during the spring and summer of 1872. 
He was made a veritable lion and not merely by 
people of the Mrs. Leo Hunter type. Eoyalty — 
whose attentions are ever dear to the republican 
heart — was as polite as the rest of the world. 

Sherman, on his return, lived for a time in Wash- 
ington, but finally, in the summer of 1874, he got 
leave to remove his headquarters to St. Louis, and 
thus escape Secretary of War Belknap and the poli- 
ticians. It was while in St. Louis that he published 
his " Memoirs, 7 ' two volumes of interesting and 
characteristic narration, infinitely superior, from a 
literary point of view, to the usual reminiscences of 
the successful military commander. The distin- 
guished author spoke plainly, as was his wont, and 
many of us can remember the storm which the work 
evoked from some quarters. The criticisms were 
rather welcome than otherwise to Sherman ; they 
bespoke national interest, and gave him an admi- 
rable excuse for letter- writing and argument. Pos- 
terity may be thankful that he had the industry to 
prepare these u Memoirs." They form, with the 
possible exception of Grant's " Personal Memoirs," 
the most valuable autobiography connected with the 
Civil War. Indeed, their reading, combined with 
references to the "Sherman Letters," so well but 
unpretentiously edited by his daughter, Mrs. Thorn- 
dike, will give one otherwise ignorant of the sub- 



PEACEFUL DAYS 325 

ject a graphic idea of certain phases of the conflict, 
military and political. 

Throughout these years Sherman's name was con- 
stantly being mentioned for the presidency, but 
he always deprecated the use of it, and with evident 
sincerity. His correspondence contains frequent 
disclaimers of any White House ambitions, as when 
he writes to John Sherman in August, 1874, "not 
to give any person the least encouragement to think 
I can be used for political ends. I have seen it 
poison so many otherwise good characters, that I am 
really more obstinate than ever. I think Grant will 
be made miserable to the end of his life by his eight 
years' experience." 

The resignation and fall of Secretary of War 
Belknap, in the spring of 1876, indirectly resulted 
in the return to Washington of General Sherman. 
Judge Taft, the succeeding secretary, was a great 
admirer of him, and was instrumental in having, 
through executive order, the powers of the com- 
manding general restored. The headquarters of the 
army were re-established at the national capital, 
while Sherman found his position much more con- 
genial than before. Life passed with comparative 
serenity, and decidedly uneventfully, until his re- 
tirement from the army, February 8, 1884, when he 
had reached the prescribed age of sixty-four years. 
He had, several months previously, turned over the 
command of the army to General Sheridan. 

The politicians, or at least some of them, were 
now " booming" Sherman for the Eepublican nomi- 



326 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

nation for the presidency. The general returned to 
St. Louis, in no mood to seek the honor. He had 
witnessed Grant's loss of prestige in the White 
House ; he had found nothing particularly to envy 
in the lot of President Hayes j he had seen nothing 
more to envy in the tragic end of Garfield, or in the 
succession of Chester A. Arthur. He felt, too, 
that a military man was not suited to the exactions 
of the office of chief magistrate. But there seemed, 
at one time, to be a very strong movement in favor 
of the hero of the " March to the Sea." Shrewd 
observers knew that the very name of Sherman had 
in it an irresistible appeal to a whole legion of 
voters. 

In May, 1884, John Sherman wrote to the general : 
"It is certain that if Blaine is not nominated in the 
early ballots a movement will be made for your 
nomination, and, if entered upon, will go like wild- 
fire. Some one should be authorized to make a 
definite and positive refusal if you have concluded 
to decline the nomination, if tendered. My own 
opinion is still that while you ought not to seek, 
or even beforehand consent, to accept a nomination, 
yet if it comes unsought and with cordial unan- 
imity you ought to acquiesce. . . . Blaine 
could readily turn his strength to you if he cannot 
get a majority, and, I think, means to do so." 

In his answer to this letter General Sherman said 
that the more he reflected, the more firmly was he 
convinced that he was wise in putting behind him 
1 ' any false ambition. " " Why should I, > ' he asked, 



PEACEFUL DAYS 327 

"at [nearly] sixty-five years of age, with a reason- 
able provision for life, not a dollar of debt, and with 
the universal respect of my neighbors and country- 
men, embark in the questionable game of politics ? 
The country is in a state of absolute peace, and it 
would be a farce to declare that any man should 
sacrifice himself to a mere party necessity." 

So far did the movement in favor of General Sher- 
man go that Blaine wrote a letter — marked, char- 
acteristically, "strictly, absolutely confidential"— 
in which this brilliant but always shifty statesman 
stated that in case of a deadlock in the Eepublican 
nominating convention between himself and Arthur 
the name of Sherman would come to the fore— in 
which instance, argued Blaine, it was the duty of 
the general, as a soldier, to accept the duty thus 
thrust upon him. i c You can no more refuse, ' ' wrote 
Blaine, "than you could have refused to obey an 
order when you were a lieutenant in the army." 

But as it came to pass, Blaine and Logan were 
nominated for President and Vice-President, shining 
marks for defeat in the following November. Sher- 
man heaved a sigh of relief, sincere rather than af- 
fected, when the convention was over. To his brother 
he wrote: "I feel such a sense of relief that I 
would approve of anything. My instructions to Hen- 
derson, 1 verbal, telegraphic, and written, were all 
short, emphatic, and clear, and, so far as I am con- 
cerned, all may be published ; viz., first, to do what 
was possible to prevent even the mention of my 
1 J. B. Henderson. 



328 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

name ; and, second, that though there should occur 
a break after the first ballots, and my name should 
be presented as a compromise, to decline ; and, lastly 
if in spite of such declination I should be nominated, 
I would decline with an emphasis which might be 
construed as disrespectful to the convention itself, 
which, of course, I did not want to do. . . . 
Anyhow, I escaped, and that to me was salvation." 

Sensible Sherman ! Had he been nominated and 
elected, and turned loose to wrestle with the politi- 
cians, with his irritable, undiplomatic ways and igno- 
rance of the pitfalls of the presidency, his fame and 
his peace of mind would have suffered sadly. 
Would that Grant had been equally coy ! 

The final years of Sherman's life, from the sum- 
mer of 1886 to the end in 1891, were spent in New 
York city. Here he resided peacefully, respected 
and happy, ever in demand for festive occasions. 

Mrs. Sherman died in 1888 ; she had been a de- 
voted wife, and the parting was hard to bear, but he 
comforted himself with the thought that the separa- 
tion would be a short one. She had been a devout 
Roman Catholic, whilst he was not, but the differ- 
ence as to belief had worked no estrangement. 

Sherman's life in New York, particularly after he 
moved into his house in West Seventy-first Street, 
was far from idle. He rose early, ate a light break- 
fast, and then spent a goodly portion of his morning 
in the library, a most interesting " den," filled with 
books and maps. His correspondence consumed a 
great deal of time, dealing, as it did, with all sorts 



PEACEFUL DAYS 329 

of subjects, including numerous invitations to speak 
before gatherings of veterans. At night he was al- 
ways in demand for dinners, and he seldom refused 
to go forth and do battle with his digestion. 

A lady once asked the general how he managed 
to attend so many elaborate dinners without com- 
mitting u gastronomic suicide"? "I do not touch 
fifteen per cent, of the dinners I go to," the old war- 
rior answered. "I go to see the diners and enjoy 
their enjoyment, which I never could do if I was 
foolish enough to treat my stomach disrespectfully. 
You see, it has been too staunch a friend to neglect. 
I eat to live, and am satisfied with the simplest kind 
of food. Then I take great pains to give hunger a 
show, and while I believe most thoroughly in the 
value of regular meals and rest, I have learned how 
to go through a dining-room without eating a morsel, 
without being detected, and without hurting the 
feelings of the hostess." Indeed, Sherman confined 
himself to the plainest dishes, and never touched 
champagne or heavy wines. Of all things he ab- 
horred what he called those "mixed-up French 
dishes," which might be "anything or nothing." 

As a host he was no less a model than as a guest. 
As a story-teller, drawing from the fund of his vast 
experiences, he was inimitable. On his seventieth 
birthday, in February of 1890, he gave a little din- 
ner at his home, when he said, in his straightfor- 
ward, sincere way : i ' Yes, I am seventy years old 
to-day, the time allotted for man to live, but I can 
truly say that I have never felt better for any time 



330 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHEBMAN 

within ten years. Seventy years is a long time, and 
it seems a great while since I was a boy. Still, I 
can recall incidents that happened when I was not 
more than four years of age." His memory was 
astonishing, and so continued unto the last. 

" Sherman 7 s life in New York," said the late John 
Eussell Young, "was as unique as Wellington's in 
London after Waterloo. He was the first citizen 
of the metropolis, and no gathering seemed com- 
plete without his cheery, dominant presence. He 
had a rapid, sketchy way of putting things, — 
Turneresque, one might say — brilliant, vivid, 
memorable, in contrast with the concentrated, 
epigrammatic style of Grant. . . . Sherman 
was fond of the theatre, and was a special 
favorite among the actors. He believed in the 
elevation of the stage, as an important element in 
the welfare of society. I remember how this was 
shown at the supper given by Augustin Daly to 
Henry Irving and his company. It was a brilliant 
occasion, with seventy or eighty guests — the table 
circular, the centre a parterre of roses, the com- 
pany the most distinguished. After Daly opened 
the supper he coaxed Sherman into the chair, and 
there he sat until six o'clock in the morning, taking 
Irving by the hand at the close, and, as the com- 
pany stood, making a graceful and elegant speech 
of farewell. I remember that some of the younger 
guests ran away about three in the morning for 
reasons of health and physical endurance. The 
general remained until the end, and as we passed 



PEACEFUL DAYS 331 

out into Broadway the sun was shining and the 
milk carts were hurrying over the stony streets on 
their morning errand." 

It is attractive to think of a great war horse 
growing old so gracefully, amid the incense of 
roses and admiration, far away from the smell of 
gunpowder, or the carnage of the battle-field. 
" There was nothing about the war more worthy of 
remembrance," Mr. Young went on to relate, "than 
the affectionate relations of Grant, Sherman, and 
Sheridan. Grant never seemed to tire of talking 
about Sherman, nor Sherman about Grant. Con- 
cerning the rivalries, the ambitions, heartburnings 
— perhaps one might say the human nature of the 
war — the friendship of these three great men 
should have everlasting remembrance. We have 
had no public man, with the exception of Lin- 
coln, who could furnish more material [for the 
biographer] than Sherman. This came from 
the temperament, the originality, the overflowing 
genius of the man. Grant and Sheridan were 
reserved men — Grant especially, unless he was 
among intimates. But Sherman had no reserve. 
His genius seemed perennial. There was his 
marvelous memory, his vivid portraiture, his 
eloquence which never failed him, and that 
singularly sweet, penetrating voice, with so much 
gentleness, and at the same time with so much 
power, which no one who ever heard can ever for- 
get. I never heard Sherman say an unkind word 
of any one ; I never heard him speak harshly of 



332 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

his comrades. He was especially kind to Southern 
men, and all his opinions of the South were stamped 
with the utmost charity and consideration. No one 
who had fought against him and accepted the results 
of the war ever came to Sherman in vain. He was in- 
tolerant only of falsehood and enmity to the flag." 

It was on the third of February, 1891, that Gen- 
eral Sherman wrote to his brother John: "I am 
drifting along in the old rut in good strength, 
attending to about four dinners a week at public 
or private houses, and generally wind up for gossip 
at the Union League Club." Of the many letters 
which he had sent his brother, from early boyhood, 
this was to be the last. He went to the theatre on 
the evening of the day following ; caught cold, 
presumably in returning home, and soon became 
very ill with erysipelas of the face and throat. His 
seventy-first birthday occurred on the 8th ; on the 
14th of February, 1891, he died. He had joined, 
as Grant and Sheridan had already done, the 
phantom army of the conquerors. 

Charles De Kay finely expressed the thought of 
Sherman's passing away to join Grant and Sheridan 
when he wrote the lines ending with : 

"Rumble, and grumble, ye drums, 
Strain in your throat, O pipes ! 
Last of the warriors of oak that were hewn 
Into strength by failure and stripes ! 
Last, not least of the heroes old, 
Smoke-begrimed, fervid, crafty, bold — 
Sheridan, Grant, your comrade boon 
Comes — to your haven comes," 



PEACEFUL DAYS 333 

Sherman's death was the signal for eulogies and 
overflowing press notices throughout the North. 
Even many Southern editors dealt kindly with his 
memory, after a chivalrous fashion. " He had his 
faults," said the Atlanta Constitution, " very serious 
ones, but he also had many shining virtues. He 
always, in his heart, really liked Southerners, and 
had many personal friends among them. The re- 
building of Atlanta gratified him very much, and 
he was a firm believer in the future greatness of this 
region. When all is said that can be said, the fact 
looms up that this man was one of the greatest 
soldiers of the age. . . . He was a hard fighter, 
and never grew sentimental in the presence of 
bloodshed and death. But when the business of 
war was over — when he had accomplished his 
mission — he showed a softer side, and men and 
women, even among his former foes, found him a 
very lovable man." 

The body of Sherman was laid to rest in Calvary 
Cemetery, St. Louis, next to the grave of his wife, 
with all the attending circumstances of military 
pomp. It was a soldier's funeral, and therefore an 
appropriate one. It suggested lines from Tenny- 
son's ode on the burial of the Duke of Wellington : 

"Hush, the dead march wails in the people's ears : 
The dark crowd moves, and there are sobs and tears : 
The black earth yawns : the mortal disappears ; 
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ; 
He is gone who seemed so great — 
Gone; but nothing can bereave him 



334 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 

Of the force he made his own 

Being here, and we believe him 

Something far advanced in state, 

And that he wears a truer crown 

Than any wreath that man can weave him." 

Thus passed away one of the greatest figures in 
the history of the nineteenth century. Loyal, 
brave in mind and body; in war a relentless genius; 
in peace kindly and simple; frank to the verge of 
imprudence; impetuously honest; intolerant of 
sham; brilliant of brain; with small faults and 
large virtues ; a born commander, stern and bold, 
yet withal a pleasant gentleman — such was William 
Tecumseh Sherman. His name will last so long as 
the Union lasts. Aptly did the stone-cutter chisel 
upon his tombstone : 

" Faithful and HmwrdbU." 



THE END 



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Arnold, Isaac N. Life of Abraham Lincoln, 1885. 

Badeau, General Adam. Military History of U. S. Grant, 
1881. 

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War; edited for the Century 
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Clarence C. Buel. (4 volumes), 1887. 

Bowman and Irwin, Colonels S. M. and R. B. Sherman and 
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Cannon, John. Grant's Campaign for the Capture of Rich- 
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Conyngham, Captain David P. Sherman's March Through 
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Coppee, Henry, LL. D. General Thomas. (Great Com- 
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Cox, General J. D. Campaigns of the Civil War ; various 
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Critical Sketches of Some of the Federal and Confederate 
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Dana, Charles A. Recollections of the Civil War, 1898. 
Davis, Jefferson. The Rise and Fall of the Confederate 
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Dicey, Edward. Six Months in the Federal States. (2 vol- 
umes), 1863. 

Dodge, Colonel Theodore A. A Bird's-Eye View of Our 
Civil War, 1883. 

Dunning, William Archibald, Ph. D. Essays on the Civil 
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336 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Eggleston, George Caey. A Rebel's Recollections. (Second 
edition), 1878. 

Estvan, Colonel B., C. S. A. War Pictures From the South, 
1864. 

Fiske, John. The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War, 1900. 

Force, General Manning F. General Sherman. (Great 
Commanders Series), 1899. 

Fry, General James B. Operations of the Army Under 
Buell, 1884. 
McDowell and Tyler in the Campaign of Bull Run, 

1884. 

Gorham, George C. Life and Public Services of Edwin M. 
Stanton. (2 volumes), 1899. 

Gordon, General John B. Reminiscences of the Civil War, 
1903. 

Grant, U. S. Personal Memoirs of. (2 volumes), 1885. 

Hedley, F. Y. Marching Through Georgia, 1885. 

Holloway, Laura C. Howard (General Howard), The Chris- 
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Hood, General J. B. Advance and Retreat; Personal Ex- 
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Howe, Henry. The Times of the Rebellion in the West, 
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Hughes, Robert M. General Johnston. (Great Commanders 
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Johnson, Brigadier-General R. W. A Soldier's Reminis- 
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Johnston, General Joseph E. Narrative of Military Oper- 
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States, 1874. 

Jones, J. B. A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate 

States Capital. (2 volumes), 1866. 
Kennaway, John H., M. A. On Sherman's Track, 1867. 
Landon, Dr. Judson S. The Constitutional History and 

Government of the United States ; revised edition, 

1900. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 337 

Lee, Fitzhugh. General Lee. (Great Commanders Series), 

1899. 
Lindsey, T. J. Ohio at Shiloh, 1903. 
Logan, General John A. The Great Conspiracy, 1886. 

Long, General A. L. Memoirs of Robert E. Lee ; His Mili- 
tary and Personal History, 1886. 

McClure, Alexander K. Lincoln and Men of War Times, 
1892. 

McCulloch, Hugh. Men and Measures of Half a Century, 
1888. 

Morse, John T. , Jr. Abraham Lincoln. (American Statesmen 
Series). (2 volumes), 1893. 

Nichols, George Ward. The Story of the Great March, 
1865. 

Nicolay, John G. and Hay, John. Abraham Lincoln, A 
History. (10 volumes), 1890. 

Paris, Comte de. History of the Civil War in America. 
(3 volumes), 1875. 

Pepper, Captain George W. Personal Recollections of Sher- 
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1866. 

Piatt, Donn. General George H. Thomas, A Critical Bi- 
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Boynton, 1893. 

Pollard, Edward A. The Third Year of the War, 1865. 

Poetry, Lyrical, Narrative, and Satirical, of the Civil War, 
edited by Richard Grant White, 1866. 

Richmond During the War, by " A Richmond Lady," 1867. 

Ropes, John Codman. The Story of the Civil War. (2 vol- 
umes), 1894-1898. 

Schofield, John M. Forty-six Years in the Army, 1897. 

Seward, William H., Works of ; new edition. (5 volumes), 
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Sherman, John. Recollections. (2 volumes), 1895. 

Sherman's Official Account of His Great March, 1865. 



338 BIBLIOGEAPHY 

Sherman Letters, The. Edited by Rachel Sherman Thorndike. 
1894. 

Sherman, General William T., Memoirs of. (2 volumes), 
first edition, 1875 ; second edition, 1886. 

Sheridan, P. H., Personal Memoirs of. (2 volumes), 1888. 

Spencer, Cornelia Phillips. The Last Ninety Days of the 
War in North Carolina, 1866. 

Smith, Walter George. Life and Letters of Thomas Kilby 
Smith, 1898. 

Speeches of Carl Schurz, 1865. 

Stephens, Alexander H. A Constitutional View of the 
War Between the States, 1870. 

Thorpe, Francis Newton. The Constitutional History of the 
United States. (3 volumes), 1901. 

Van Horn, Thomas B. The Life of Major-General George H. 
Thomas, 1882. 

War Talks of Confederate Veterans, edited by George S. Ber- 
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WAR of the Rebellion, The. Official Records of the Union and 
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of the Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. ; Series 
I, II, III, and IV. (70 volumes), 1881-1901. 



INDEX 



"Agreement," or peace 
treaty, between Generals 
Sherman and Johnston, 286- 
301 ; its rejection by An- 
drew Johnson and Stanton, 
301-306 ; followed by a new 
" Agreement," 306. 

Alexandria (La. ), military col- 
lege at, formed, with General 
Sherman as superintendent, 
42 ; Sherman resigns from, 
49, 50. 

Alva, Duke of, Sherman com- 
pared to, 216. 

Anderson, General Robert, 
commands at Sumter, 58 ; 
in Kentucky, 79, 80. 

Anthony, Colonel , warns Sher- 
man of the enemy, 148. 

Arnold, Isaac N., quoted, 299. 

Arthur, Chester A., as Presi- 
dent of the United States, 
326 ; as a convention candi- 
date, 327. 

Atlanta, campaign of, and 
final fall, 162-221. 

Atlanta, fire in, 230, 231. 

Banks, General N. P., on 
the Mississippi, 122 ; on the 
Red River, 166. 

Beauregard, General P. G. T., 
bombards Sumter, 66; at 
Manassas Junction, 69, 72 ; 
at Shiloh, 91. 98 ; abandons 
Corinth, 101 ; commands 
" Military Division of the 
West," 228; appeals to 



Georgians, 244 ; visited by 
Joseph E. Johnston, 277, 
278 ; conversation with 
Johnston, 292. 

Belknap. W. W., as Secretary 
of War, 323-325. 

Benjamin, Judah P., sees 
Joseph E. Johnston, 293. 

Benton, Thomas H., present 
at General Sherman's wed- 
ding, 28. 

Blaine, James G., writes to 
General Sherman, 326, 327. 

Blair, General, detailed by 
Grant to check Johnston, 
127 ; before Atlanta, 196, 
198; in the " March to the 
Sea," 229 ; at the Washing- 
ton review, 311. 

Blair, Montgomery, letter to 
Sherman, 59. 

Bocock, Congressman, opposed 
to John Sherman, 44. 

Bowman, Colonel S. M., 
quoted, 71, 92, 143. 

Bragg, General Braxton, meets 
General Sherman, 52 ; draws 
out of Chattanooga, 145, 
146 ; on Missionary Ridge, 
151, 152 ; his retreat. 155, 
157. 

Bragg, Mrs. Braxton, talks to 
General Sherman, 52. 

Breckenridge, General, inter- 
views with General Sher- 
man, 293, 297, 298, 309. 

Brown, Governor J. C, tired 
of the war, 223. 



340 



INDEX 



Buchanan, James, mentioned, 
43. 

Buckner, General S. B., in 
Kentucky, 84 ; defeated by- 
Grant, 89. 

Buell, General Don Carlos, 
relieves General Sherman, 
81, 83, 84, 87; in the Shiloh 
operations, 90-92, 98. 

Bull Run, battle of, 72-75. 

11 Bummers," on the "March 
to the Sea," 236-243. 

Burnside, General A. E., dis- 
aster at Fredericksburg, 116 ; 
commands Army of the Ohio, 
145 ; at Knoxville, 151, 156- 
158. 

Butler, General Benjamin F., 
with the Army of the James, 
165. 



Calhoun, James M., mayor 
of Atlanta, written to by 
General Sherman, 11, 219, 
220. 

California, "gold fever" in, 
26 ; contrasts of life there, 
38. 

Cameron, Simon, as Secretary 
of War, 61, 62, 65, 68; his- 
toric interview with General 
Sherman , 81-83. 

Campbell, Judge, as a Peace 
Commissioner, 288. 

Campbell, Lewis D., appointed 
Minister to Mexico, 316. 

Canby, General, commands 
Military Division of the 
Gulf, 163. 

Cannon, John, quoted, 62, 63, 
258. 

Carolinas, campaign of, 265- 
283. 

Chalmers, General, demands 



Sherman's surrender, 148, 
149. 

Chambers, Colonel, the owner 
of a famous slave, 46. 

Charles, Archduke, negoti- 
ations of with Napoleon, 
298. 

Chase, Salmon P., appealed to 
by General Sherman con- 
cerning the cotton question, 
103. 

Chattanooga, battle of, see 
Missionary Ridge. 

Churchill, General, defeated 
by Sherman, 114, 115. 

Clay, Henry, his candidacy as 
President, 24; at General 
Sherman's weddiDg, 28 ; his 
4 ' Omnibus Bill ' ' and ante- 
bellum activities, 29, 32. 

Cobb, Howell, his plantation 
burned, 244. 

Colfax, Schuyler, interest in 
the "soldier vote," 206, 
207. 

Columbia, burning of, 268- 
275. 

Conyngham, Captain D. P.. 
quoted, 64, 173-175, 214. 

Cooper, General, telegraphs 
Joseph E. Johnston to re- 
linquish command, 188. 

Corcoran, Colonel, commands 
an Irish regiment, 70, 71, 
74. 

Corse, General John M., aids 
General Sherman, 149, 150 ; 
in the Missionary Ridge ac- 
tions, 153, 154 ; gallantry at 
Allatoona, 226. 

Corwin, Thomas, interview 
with General Sherman, 30- 
32. 

Cumberland, Department of, 
organized, 79. 



INDEX 



341 



Curtis, General, operations in 
Missouri, 87. 

Dahlgren, Admiral John 
A., his fleet off Savannah, 
250. 

Daly, Augustin, at a theatrical 
supper, 330. 

Dana, Charles A., takes notes 
before Vicksburg, 123, 124, 
127 ; comments on the Stan- 
ton-Sherman controversy, 
305, 312, 313. 

Davis, Jefferson C, General, 
on Missionary Ridge, 153 ; 
commands Fourteenth 
Corps, 229 ; unjustly 
blamed, 265. 

Davis, Jefferson, not an ad- 
mirer of General Bragg, 52 ; 
views on Civil War matters, 
137, 138; "military gen- 
ius, ' ' 164 ; controversy with 
Joseph E. Johnston, 169, 
170, 173, 181, 187-189, 193 ; 
disappointments in the con- 
duct of the war, 212, 213 ; 
censures General Sherman, 
216 ; seeks to encourage the 
Georgians, 222, 223, 225 ; 
criticises the ' ' March to the 
Sea," 240, 241 ; mentioned, 
260 ; condemns a ' ' Fabian 
policy," 277 ; discussed by 
Lincoln, 286, 287 ; in nego- 
tiations at the end of the 
war, 293, 294 ; final polit- 
ical days, 303, 307. 

Dayton, Colonel, General 
Sherman's aide, at Fort 
Hindman, 114. 

DeKay, Charles, poem of on 
General Sherman, 332. 

Depew, ChaunceyM., ancestry 
of, 13. 



Dix, General, in the Stanton- 
Sherman controversy, 303. 

Dodge, Colonel Theodore A., 
comments on the Civil War, 
111, 184. 

Dunn, Lieutenant, sent to 
General Sherman by Giant, 
251. 

Evarts, William M., an- 
cestry of, 13. 

Ewell, General R. S., at West 
Point, 17. 

Ewing, Ellen Boyle, see Mrs. 
William T. Sherman. 

Ewing, Thomas, protector of 
General Sherman, 16, 17, 
23 ; as Secretary of the In- 
terior, 27, 28 ; written to by 
Halleck, 92 ; at the Wash- 
ington review, 312. 

Fanning, Colonel, Sherman 
reports to, 25, 26. 

Farragut, Admiral, enters 
Mobile Bay, 207. 

Fillmore, Millard, becomes 
President of the United 
States, 29, 30. 

Floyd, J. B., as a Southern 
sympathizer, 43. 

Force, General Manning F., 
quoted, 75, 119, 230, 315. 

Forrest, General N. B., co- 
operates with General Van 
Dorn, 110 ; in cavalry opera- 
tions, 165, 190, 223. 

Fort Donelson, capture of, 89. 

Fort Henry, capture of, 88. 

Fort Hindman, surrender of, 
113, 114. 

Fort McAllister, taken by 
General Hazen, 250. 

Fort Sumter, surrender of, 
61. 



342 



INDEX 



Foster, General, in Charles- 
ton, 275. 

Fox, "Parson," incident at 
his house, 129. 

Franklin, battle of, 246. 

Franklin, Benjamin, Sherman 
compared to, 89. 

Garfield, James A., tragic 
fate of, 326. 

Gilmer, Colonel J. F., his en- 
gineering work at Atlanta, 
194. 

Granger, General, reinforces 
Burnside, 158. 

Grant, Ulysses S., contrasted 
with General Sherman, 20 ; 
condemns the Mexican War, 
23 ; reticence, 62 ; careless 
in dress, 63 ; up the Tennes- 
see River, 87 ; captures 
Forts Henry and Donelson, 
88, 89 ; work in connection 
with Shiloh, 90-92, 96, 97 ; 
"under a cloud," 98-100 ; 
quoted, 101 ; appointed to 
command the Army of the 
Tennessee, 102; in opera- 
tions connected with Vicks- 
burg, 108-113 ; supports 
Sherman in regard to corre- 
spondents, 118, 119; as- 
sumes personal command in 
Vicksburg campaign, 121- 
128 ; at the surrender of 
Vicksburg, 130-133 ; be- 
comes a major-general of 
regulars, 136 ; avoids let- 
ter-writing, 141 ; certain 
characteristics of, 142, 143; 
sent to relief of Rosecrans, 
147, 148 ; telegraphs to 
Sherman, 150 ; in the bat- 
tles of Chattanooga, Look- 
out Mountain and Mission- 



ary Ridge, 151-157 ; corre- 
spondence with Sherman, 
161 ; commands all the 
armies of the United States, 
162, 163 ; describes the mil- 
itary situation, 164, 165 ; 
plans, 166; ridicules Jef- 
ferson Davis, 170; looks 
to Sherman for success, 185 ; 
commends the tactics of 
Joseph E. Johnston, 189; 
mentioned, 190-192 ; de- 
scribes Hooker, 200, 201 ; 
delayed before Richmond, 
208, 209 ; rejoices at fall of 
Atlanta, 210 ; suggests an- 
other campaign to Sherman, 
222 ; quoted, 223 ; hears 
from Sherman, 224 ; ap- 
proves the "March to the 
Sea, ' ' 225-228 ; mentioned, 
233, 241 ; reassures Lincoln 
of Sherman's safety, 245 ; 
fears for General Thomas, 
246, 247; writes to Sher- 
man, 250, 251 ; referred to 
by Lincoln, 257 ; endorses 
Sherman's plans, 260, 265, 
266 : Sherman refuses to be 
placed in rivalry with, 268 ; 
hears from Sherman, 279 ; 
threatening General Lee, 
284 ; conversations with 
Lincoln and Sherman, 285- 
290 ; in the closing days of 
the war, 291, 292, 293, 298; 
receives Sherman's "agree- 
ment, ' ' 301 ; sent to treat 
with Joseph E. Johnston, 
303, 304 ; quoted, 305 ; his 
delicacy toward Sherman, 
306 ; his greatness as a sol- 
dier, 308 ; tries to reconcile 
Sherman to Stanton, 309 ; 
at the Washington review, 



INDEX 



343 



312; relations to the An- 
drew Johnson administra- 
tion, 316, 317, 319, 320 ; be- 
oomes President of the 
United States, 321, 322 ; de- 
scribed by Hugh MoCul- 
loch, 323 ; " Personal Mem- 
oirs," 324 ; John Sher- 
man's comment on, 325 ; 
loss of prestige, 326 ; con- 
trasts between him and 
Sherman, 330, 331 ; referred 
to in DeKays poem, 332. 

Grant, Mrs. Ulysses S., ad- 
vice to her husband and 
Sherman, 286. 

Greeley, Horace, his editorial 
in the New York Tribune, 
211. 

Halleck, General H. W., 
commands Department of 
the Missouri, 83 ; relations 
with General Sherman, 85- 
87 ; importance of his com- 
mand, 88 ; work in connec- 
tion with Shiloh, 90, 92, 
96-98, 100 ; relations with 
Grant, 98, 99 ; his cautious- 
ness, 102 ; Sherman's hope 
concerning, 116; his faith 
shaken in Grant, 126 ; hears 
from Grant, 132 ; hears from 
Sherman, 137, 139, 140 ; in- 
structs Grant, 146 ; Sher- 
man's prophecy concerning, 
161; Sherman writes to, 
215, 220, 221, 243, 260; 
warns Sherman as to the 
negro question, 264, 265 ; 
repudiates Sherman's 
"Agreement," 304; Sher- 
man refuses to meet him, 
309. 

Hamilton, General C. S., 



commands under Grant, 
109. 

Hampton, General Wade, sent 
to South Carolina, 267 ; his 
connection with the burning 
of Columbia, 269, 275, 276 ; 
at Johnston's peace confer- 
ence, 296. 

Hardee, General W. J., opera- 
tions around Atlanta, 198, 
208; defends Savannah, 248, 
253, 254 ; evacuates Savan- 
nah, 255 ; opposes Sherman 
in the Carolinas, 267, 275- 
277, 280, 281. 

Harrison, William Henry, has 
Thomas Ewing for a cabinet 
officer, 17. 

Harte, Bret, quoted, 311. 

Hayes, Rutherford B., as 
President of the United 
States, 326. 

Hazen, General W. B., at 
Fort McAllister, 250; in 
the Washington review, 311. 

Hedley, F. Y., quoted, 169, 
197, 236, 312. 

Henderson, John B., in- 
structed by Sherman as to 
presidential nomination, 
327. 

Hill, Senator, appeals to 
Georgians, 245. 

Hoar, George F., his ancestry, 
13. 

Holmes, O. W., quoted, 53. 

Hood, General J. B., censures 
Sherman, 11, 12 ; argues 
with Joseph E. Johnston, 
179,180; relieves Johnston, 
and subsequent operations 
about Atlanta, 187, 189, 
190, 193, 195-199, 201, 202 ; 
evacuates Atlanta, 208, 212- 
215 ; correspondence with 



344 



INDEX 



General Sherman, 217-221 ; 
operations to annoy Sher- 
man, 222-228; plans in- 
vasion of middle Tennessee, 
245, 246 ; defeated by Gen- 
eral Thomas, 247, 248 ; his 
army demoralized, 265, 267. 

Hooker, General Joseph, in 
operations connected with 
Missionary Ridge, 146, 152, 
155; commends Joseph E. 
Johnston's strategy, 173 ; in 
the Atlanta campaign, 176- 
178, 193 ; not a favorite with 
Sherman, 199, 200. 

Hovey, General A. P., pro- 
moted by Lincoln, 203, 204. 

Howard, General O. O., con- 
versation with Sherman, 174, 
175 ; commands Army of the 
Tennessee, 199 ; military 
success of, 201; on the 
"March to the Sea," 229, 
232; in Columbia, 269; 
juncture with Sherman, 
281 ; at the Washington re- 
view, 310. 

Hoyt, Mary, see Mrs. Charles 
Robert Sherman. 

Hunter, Colonel David, as- 
signed to division com- 
mand, 69. 

Hunter, R. M. T., as a " Peace 
Commissioner, ' ' 288. 

Hurlbut, General, commands 
a corps, 122. 

Hyams, Attorney-General, of 
Louisiana, discusses slavery 
with Sherman, 47. 



Irving, Sir Henry, meets 

Sherman, 331. 
Irwin, Colonel R. B., quoted, 

143. 



Johnson, Andrew, his at- 
titude toward Sherman as to 
the "Agreement," 299, 
301 ; later cordiality to 
Sherman, 309 ; reviews the 
grand parade of veterans, 
310, 312, 313 ; contests with 
Congress, Stanton, etc., 316- 
321. 

Johnston, General Albert Sid- 
ney, near and at Shiloh, 89- 
93. 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 
mentioned, 20; commands 
at Winchester, 69; at Bull 
Run, 72 ; prepares for a cam- 
paign, 88 ; opposes Grant, 
127, 128; threatened by 
Sherman, 132 ; retires to 
Jackson, Miss., 135; in- 
volved in Sherman's south- 
ward movement, 165-173, 
175; controversy with two 
of his commanders, 179, 180 ; 
his detractors and admirers, 
181 ; pursues a ' ' Fabian pol- 
icy, " 184-187 ; succeeded by 
General Hood, 187-190, 193, 
194; his policy condemned 
by Hood, 213, 214 ; removes 
families on his route, 218; 
assigned to oppose Sherman 
in the Carolinas, 277 ; oper- 
ations, 277-293; writes to 
Sherman regarding surren- 
der, 292 ; negotiations with 
Sherman, 294-307, 309. 

Jones, J. B., quoted, 212,261. 

Juarez, President of Mexico, 
American mission to, 316. 

Kentucky, political and mil- 
itary situation in, 81, 82. 

Kilpatrick, General H. J. , 
operates with cavalry in the 



INDEX 



345 



"March to the Sea," 229, 
248 ; narrowly escapes cap- 
ture, 276 ; near Avery sboro, 
280. 

Knox, Thomas W., New York 
Herald correspondent, his 
trouble with Sherman, 118, 
119. 

Knoxville, siege of, raised, 
157, 158. 

Lecompte, Judge, admits 
Sherman to the bar, 42. 

Lee, General Robert E., com- 
pared to Washington, 106; 
defeated at Gettysburg, 132- 
134; on the Rapidan, 164- 
166 ; favors a plan of Jeffer- 
son Davis, 169 ; mentioned, 
173, 190; the South's con- 
fidence in, 193; possibility 
of his having a statue at 
Gettysburg, 242 ; Grant's 
projects concerning, 250, 
260, 266 ; eyes of the coun- 
try centred upon him, Grant 
and Sherman, 267; rein- 
states Joseph E. Johnston, 
277, 278 ; his situation char- 
acterized by Sherman, 279 ; 
defending Richmond and 
Petersburg, 284 ; Grant's 
mention of to Lincoln, 286 ; 
Lincoln speaks of, 289 ; re- 
treats toward Danville Rail- 
road, 291 ; surrenders at 
Appomattox, 292 ; more he- 
roic than Jefferson Davis, 
294; terms given him by 
Grant, 298, 306 ; made for- 
ever famous by the war, 
308. 

Lincoln, Abraham, as a law- 
yer, 15 ; his subtlety, 20 ; 
opinion on slavery, 32 ; talks 



to Sherman, 56, 58; ac- 
tivities at beginning of the 
war, 67-70 ; supports Sher- 
man as to discipline, 76-79 
humorous remark, 80 ; mis 
judged by Sherman, 116 
on the subject of newspaper 
correspondents, 118-119 
loss of confidence in his ad- 
ministration, 120 ; sends 
Dana to judge of Grant, 
123; shaken in opinion of 
Grant, 126 ; looks to Sher- 
man for military success, 
185 ; letter to Sherman, 203, 
204 ; another letter, 207 ; 
sends a "Thanksgiving" 
letter to Sherman after fall 
of Atlanta, 209, 210 ; his re- 
election urged by Horace 
Greeley, 211; hesitation as 
to the " March to the Sea," 
227 ; remarks upon, 245 ; 
hears from Sherman on cap- 
ture of Savannah, 255 ; re- 
plies to Sherman, 256, 257; 
as to the negro question, 
264 ; interviews with Sher- 
man, 285, 290 ; his assassi- 
nation, 295, 296 ; mentioned, 
298, 299; referred to by 
Stanton, 302-305 ; men- 
tioned, 310, 312, 331. 

Lincoln, Mrs. Abraham, at 
City Point, 286. 

Logan, General John A., warns 
Grant as to evacuation of 
Corinth, 101 ; succeeds Mc- 
Pherson, 163 ; dashing man- 
ner of, 176 ; conduct after 
McPherson's death, 197 ; 
Sherman's opinion of, 199 ; 
gallaDtry in battle, 201 ; 
ordered to relieve Thomas, 
247 ; appears in the Wash- 



346 



INDEX 



ington review, 311; nomi- 
nated for the Vice-Presi- 
dency, 327. 

Longstreet, General James, 
reinforces General Bragg, 
145 ; detached into East 
Tennessee, 151 ; besieges 
Burnside, 157 ; mentioned, 
169. 

Lookout Mountain, see Mis- 
sionary Ridge. 

Lovell, General, receives a let- 
ter from General Hooker, 
173. 

Lucas, Mr. , see Lucas, Turner 
&Co. 

Lucas, Turner &Co., bankers, 
Sherman's connection with, 
33, 34, 38-41. 



Macbeth, Captain, be- 
friended by Sherman, 280, 
281. 

McClellan, General George B., 
organizes the Army of the 
Potomac, 79 ; Hal leek writes 
to concerning Sherman , 86 ; 
resting on the Potomac, 88 ; 
failure in the East, 102 ; re- 
lieved of command, 116 ; as 
a Presidential candidate, 
210-212. 

McClernand, General John A., 
at Shiloh, 93-95; in the 
Vicksburg campaign, 111, 
112, 115, 116, 121-128. 

McClure, Alexander K., 
quoted, 77, 80, 87. 

McCrea, Major N. C, com- 
manding at Newport Bar- 
racks, 25. 

McCulloch, Hugh, quoted, 
323. 

McDowell, General, operations 



connected with Bull Run, 
67, 69, 72-74. 

McPherson, General J. B., 
commands Grant's left wing 
in Grand Junction move- 
ment, 109 ; in the Vicksburg 
campaign, 122, 124, 125, 
128, 132; commended by 
Grant, 160; commands 
Army of the Tennessee in 
Atlanta campaign, 163 ; 
falls back from Resaca, 171 ; 
continues in the campaign, 
172, 175, 176 ; his tragic 
end, 195-199, 232; his 
memory, 311. 

Mallory, S. R., in an inter- 
view with Joseph E. Johns- 
ton, 293. 

Mansfield, General, commands 
in Washington, 67. 

"March to the Sea," the, 
carried out by Sherman, 
222-252. 

Maximilian, Emperor of Mex- 
ico, 316. 

Meade, General George Gor- 
don, his victory at Gettys- 
burg, 132, 133 ; in the 
Washington review, 308, 
310. 

Meridian, campaign of, 159. 

Mexico, war with, 23. 

Missionary Ridge, battle of, 
152-156. 

Mitchell, General O. M., cap- 
tures Huntsville, 90. 

Mobile Bay, entered by Far- 
ragut, 207. 

Moore, Governor Thomas O., 
of Louisiana, his relations 
with Sherman, 45, 46, 48- 
51. 

Myers, Colonel A. C, becomes 
a Confederate, 52. 



INDEX 



347 



Napoleon, Emperor, re- 
ferred to, 143, 213, 225, 
298. 

Nashville, battle of, 247. 

Negro, General Sherman's at- 
titude toward, 234, 235, 
262-265, 315. 

Newspaper correspondents, 
abuse of, 185, 186. 

Niohols, Colonel George W., 
quoted, 177, 179, 231, 239, 
271, 296. 

Ohio, Army of the, under 
General Sohofield, 163. 

"Omnibus Bill," Daniel 
Webster's speech on, 30-32. 

Osterhaus, General P. J., 
serves in the Atlantic cam- 
paign, etc., 203, 204, 229. 

Page, Bacon & Co., firm of, 
forced to suspend, 38. 

Palmer, General John M., 
Sherman's disagreement 
with, 205. 

Patterson, General Robert, in 
the early operations of the 
war, 68, 69 ; out-generaled 
by Joseph E. Johnston, 72. 

Pemberton, General John C, 
movements in Vicksburg 
campaign, 108-111 ; diver- 
sion against him, 123; 
"cooped up," 125; troub- 
les in Vicksburg, 127, 128 ; 
surrenders Vicksburg, 131, 
135. 

Pepper, Captain George W., 
his reminiscences of Sher- 
man's marches, 186, 296. 

Pittsburg Landing, see Shiloh. 

Poe, Colonel, destroys build- 
ings in Atlanta, 230. 

Polk, General Leonidas, dis- 



agrees with Joseph E. 

Johnston, 179, 180. 
Pollard, Edward A., describes 

Sherman's "March to the 

Sea," 241. 
Pope, General John, assists in 

besieging Corinth, 98. 
Porter, Admiral David D., 

assists in the Vicksburg 

campaign, 109, 110, 112, 

115, 121 ; endorses Sherman 

regarding the "Agreement " 

with Joseph E. Johnston, 

286-290. 
Potomac, Army of, organized 

by General McClellan, 79. 
Prentiss, General, assists in 

battle of Shiloh, 93, 94. 

Rawlins, General John 
A., on Grant's staff, 99; re- 
ceives a letter from Sher- 
man, 140 ; receives an of- 
ficial report from Sherman 
concerning Missionary 
Ridge, 152; appointed Sec- 
retary of War, 322. 

Reagan, John H., in consulta- 
tion with Jefferson Davis, 
293. 

Republican party, as an ac- 
complished fact, 41. 

Resaca, abandoned by Joseph 
E. Johnston, 172. 

Richmond, Va., made capi- 
tal of the Confederacy, 68; 
fall of, 291. 

Ropes, Dr. J. C, quoted, 92, 
242, 243. 

Rosecrans, General W. S., un- 
successful operations against 
General Bragg, 145, 146 ; 
replaced by George H. 
Thomas, 148; his blunder- 
ing, 151. 



348 



INDEX 



Sampson, Henry, an ex- 
ample of an educated negro, 
46, 47. 

Savannah, entered by Gen- 
eral Sherman, 255. 

Schofield, General, commands 
Army of the Ohio, 163 ; on 
the way to Atlanta with 
Sherman, 171, 180; char- 
acterizes the military quali- 
fies of Hood, 190; con- 
cerned actively in the fall of 
Atlanta, 194-196, 205, 206 ; 
movements in Tennessee, 
246 ; assists Sherman in the 
Carolinas, 266, 279-282, 
285 ; makes ' ' supplemental 
terms" with Joseph E. 
Johnston, 307 ; as Secretary 
of War, 321. 

Scott, Colonel Thomas A., 
calls Sherman " gone in the 
head," 80. 

Scott, General W i n fi e 1 d, 
prophesies civil war, 27 ; 
listens to a speech by Web- 
ster, 32 ; as lieutenant-gen- 
eral of the army, 67-69 ; 
greater on the field than 
in Washington, 320. 

Seminole War, described by 
General Sherman, 21. 

Seward, William H., favors 
political concessions, 57 ; 
accompanies Lincoln to Fort 
Corcoran, 76 ; escapes assas- 
sination, 312. 

Sheridan, General Philip H., 
in the battle of Missionary 
Ridge, 156; Logan com- 
pared to, 197 ; campaign 
in the Shenandoah, 210 ; his 
raid north of the James, 284; 
commands the army, 325; 
relations between him, 



Grant, and Sherman, 331 ; 
referred to in DeKay's 
poem, 332. 

ShermaD, Captain John, emi- 
grates to America, 13. 

Sherman, Charles Robert, the 
father of General Sherman, 
14, 17. 

Sherman, Edmond, an an- 
cestor of General Sherman, 
12, 13. 

Sherman, John, brother of 
General Sherman, 12 ; re- 
ceives letters from General 
Sherman, 18-21 ; makes 
speeches for Henry Clay, 
24 ; letters from General 
Sherman from California, 
33-37; a candidate for 
Speaker, 44, 45 ; urges Gen- 
eral Sherman to leave Lou- 
isiana, 48 ; presents him to 
Lincoln, 56-58 ; his faith in 
his|brother,60,61; hearsfrom 
General Sherman regarding 
Shiloh, 97; more letters 
from General Sherman, 105, 
112, 116, 126 ; congratulates 
him on his successes, 136 ; 
more letters, 158, 181 ; writes 
General Sherman that the 
country depends upon him, 
191 ; hears from General 
Sherman regarding the 
lieutenant-generalcy, 268 ; 
writes to him concerning 
the " Agreement," 305 ; let- 
ter from General Sherman 
on "negro equality," 315; 
urges Sherman to remain 
friendly with Grant, 323 ; 
more letters. 325-327; re- 
ceives a final letter from his 
brother, 332. 

Sherman, Mrs. Charles Robert, 



INDEX 



349 



mother of General Sherman, 
14-16. 

Sherman, Mrs. William T., 
becomes engaged to General 
Sherman, 23; marries, 28; 
goes with her husband to 
California, 35; returns to 
Ohio, 67; arrives in Mem- 
phis, 146 ; at the Washington 
review, 312 ; her death, 328; 
her grave, 333. 

Sherman, Eoger, a signer of 
the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, 13. 

Sherman, Samuel, an an- 
cestor of General Sherman, 
13. 

Sherman, Willie (son of Gen- 
eral Sherman), death of, 146, 
147. 

Sherman, William Tecumseh, 
letter to the Mayor of At- 
lanta, 11; ancestry and 
birth, 12-16 ; life at West 
Point, 17-19; as a young 
lieutenant, 20-26 ; mar- 
ries, 28 ; in Washington, 
29-32 ; becomes a captain, 
33 ; enters the banking busi- 
ness, 35 ; in California, 36- 
41 ; life in Louisiana, 42- 
48 ; declares for the Union, 
49, 50 ; leaves for the North, 
54 ; calls on Lincoln, 56-58 ; 
in St. Louis, 58 ; volunteers 
for the war, 61, 62 ; personal 
characteristics of, 63-65 ; 
appointed a colonel, 66 ; 
early civil war activities, 
70-72 ; at Bull Eun, 73, 74 ; 
enforoes discipline, 76-79 ; 
troubles in Kentucky, 81- 
84 ; gets into disfavor, 85- 
87; success at Shiloh, 92- 
98; advises General Grant, 



99, 100 ; at Memphis, 102- 
107; in the Vicksburg 
campaign, 109-123; as de- 
scribed by Charles A. Dana, 
124; work before Vicks- 
burg, 125-132; made a 
brigadier-general, 134; be- 
comes a national hero, 136, 
137; his criticisms of cer- 
tain Southern types, 139, 
140 ; his contrast to Grant. 
141-143 ; interviews a Con- 
federate officer, 144, 145 ; 
death of his son, Willie, 
146, 147 ; takes the com- 
mand of the Army of the 
Tennessee, 148 ; around 
Chattanooga, 150-156 ; goes 
to relief of Knoxville, 157, 
158; captures Meridian, 
159 ; writes to Grant, 160, 
161 ; prepares for the At- 
lanta campaign, 163-166 ; 
moves his armies, 167, 168 ; 
pushes to the southward, 
169-172 ; described by con- 
temporaries, 173-178; prog- 
ress as an invader, 181-183 ; 
abuses newspaper corre- 
spondents, 185, 186 ; hears 
of Johnston's removal, 190; 
before Atlanta, 193-198 ; 
appoints a successor to 
Logan, 199; pushes his ad- 
vantage before the enemy, 
201-203; disagreement 
with Palmer, 205, 206 ; ap- 
pointed a major-general, 
207 ; captures Atlanta, 208- 
210 ; turns Atlanta, into a 
military garrison, 215 ; un- 
popularity of his act in the 
South, 215-221 ; plans his 
"March to the Sea," 222- 
227 ; secures Grant's ap- 



350 



INDEX 



proval thereto, 228 ; starts 
from Atlanta, 232, 233 ; 
dealings with the negroes, 
234, 235 ; his famous "bum- 
mers, ' ' 236-243 ; continues 
the march, 244-249 ; before 
Savannah, 249-254 ; moves 
into Savannah, 255-258 ; his 
popularity in the North, 
259, 260 ; experiences with 
Secretary of War Stanton, 
262-264 ; plans to march 
northward, 265-267 ; oc- 
cupies Columbia, 268-275 ; 
at Cheraw, 275-277; con- 
tinues the march, 278- 
283 ; interviews President 
Lincoln, 285-290 ; enters 
Raleigh, 291, 292; negoti- 
ations with General John- 
ston, 292-300; in trouble 
with Andrew Johnson's ad- 
Da in is tr at ion, 301-305; 
makes a new ' ' Agreement ' ' 
with General Johnston, 306, 
307 ; encamps about Alex- 
andria, 308 ; at Washington, 
309, 313; activities at the 
close of the war, 314-320; 
commands the United States 
Army, 321-323 ; goes to 
Europe, 324 ; publishes his 
"Memoirs," 324; retires 
from the army, 325 ; men- 
tioned for the presidency, 
326-328 ; life in New York, 
328 ; death of his wife, 328 ; 
celebrates his seventieth 
birthday. 329 ; attends Au- 
gustin Daly's supper in 
honor of Henry Irving, 330 ; 
relations with Grant and 
Sheridan, 331 ; death and 
burial, 332, 333; estimate 
of character, 334. 



Shiloh, battle of, 89-98. 

Sigel, General Franz, retreat 
of, 166. 

Simms, William Gilmore, 
writes on the burning of 
Columbia, 269-271. 

Slavery, compromise on, 32 ; 
Sherman's comments on, 35, 
36 ; its connection with the 
people of Louisiana, 45, 46. 

Slocum, General H. W., enters 
Atlanta, 214; commands 
Sherman's left wing in the 
"March to the Sea," 229, 
231 ; in the Carolinas, 280- 
282. 

Smith, General Giles A., 
wounded on Missionary 
Ridge, 153. 

Smith, General G. W., Con- 
federate officer, 261. 

Smith, General P. F., on duty 
in California, 26, 27. 

Smith, Mrs. G. W., receives a 
friendly visit from Sherman, 
261. 

South Carolina, secession of 
from the Union, 53, 54. 

South, the, feeling in just be- 
fore the war, 55, 56. 

Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary 
of War, sends Dana to watch 
Grant, 123 ; hears from Sher- 
man regarding Savannah, 
250; arrives in Savannah, 
262; alleged sympathy of 
for the negroes, 262-264 ; 
hears again from Sherman, 
278; "ill conduct" of to- 
ward Sherman, as character- 
ized by Admiral Porter, 
288 ; mentioned, 290 ; not a 
person of "sweetness and 
light," 299; repudiates 
Sherman's " Agreement ' ' 



INDEX 



351 



with Joseph E. Johnston, 
301-307; Sherman refuses 
to meet him, 309, 312 ; fears 
assassination, 310 ; vindic- 
tive spirit of toward Sher- 
man, 313; death of, and 
Sherman's reconciliation 
with, 313 ; controversy with 
Andrew Johnson, 316, 317, 
319. 

Steele, General, at the capture 
of Fort Hindman, 114. 

Stephens, Alexander H., 
elected Vice-President of 
the Confederacy, 52; as a 
"Peace Commissioner, ' ' 
288. 

Stoneman, General George, 
unsuccessful attempt of to 
make a raid on Anderson- 
ville, 204, 205 ; serves as 
Governor of California, 205. 

Tapt, Judge, as an admirer 
of Sherman, 325. 

Taylor, Zachary, as President 
of the United States, 17 ; 
receives Sherman, 27; at- 
tends Sherman's wedding, 
28; death of, 28, 33; re- 
ferred to by Sherman, 320. 

Tecumseh, Indian chief, after 
whom Sherman was named, 
16. 

Tennessee, Army of the, when 
under General McPherson, 
163. 

Tennyson, Lord, ode of on the 
death of Wellington quoted, 
333. 

Terry, General A. H., assists 
in the campaign of the Car- 
olina^ 266; captures Wil- 
mington, 275 ; is joined by 
Sherman, 282. 



Thomas, General George H., 
a classmate of Sherman's at 
West Point, 17 ; thinks the 
war will be short, 68; en- 
counters Bragg, 145 ; cour- 
age and steadiness, 146 ; 
replaces Rosecrans, 148 ; 
welcomes Sherman at Chat- 
tanooga, 151 ; in the battles 
of Lookout Mountain, Chat- 
tanooga and Missionary 
Ridge, 152, 153, 155-157; 
with the Army of the Cum- 
berland, 163 ; moves on the 
Atlanta campaign, 167 ; 
elaborate " headquarters 
camp" of, 167, 168; work- 
ing to the southward, 171, 
175, 176, 180; in position 
outside Atlanta, 194 ; ob- 
jects to the promotion of 
Logan, 199 ; accused of be- 
ing jealous of Hooker, 200 ; 
delight of at the evacuation 
of Atlanta, 208; sent to 
Nashville, 226, 228; pre- 
pares to repulse Hood, 246 ; 
defeats Hood, 247, 248 ; 
complimented by Lincoln, 
256. 

Thorndike, Rachel Sherman 
(daughter of General Sher- 
man), referred to, 59. 60. 
315 ; her excellent editing of 
the ' ' Sherman Letters, ' ' 
324. 

Turner, see Lucas, Turner & 
Co. 

Tyler, General Daniel, in the 
Bull Run movements, 69, 
74. 

Vance, Governor, Lincoln's 

message for, 287. 
Van Dorn, General Earl, re- 



352 



INDEX 



enforces Beauregard at Cor- 
inth, 100, 101 ; receives a 
courtesy from Sherman, 106, 
107 ; captures Holly Springs, 
110. 

Van Vliet, Stewart, a class- 
mate of Sherman's at West 
Point, 17. 

Vicksburg, operations con- 
nected with, 108-134. 

Von Moltke, General, mention 
of in Sherman's testimony 
before the Mixed Commis- 
sion, 273. 

Walcutt, Colonel, in the 
Missionary Ridge actions, 
154. 

Wallace, General Lewis, ar- 
rives at Shiloh, 91, 95. 

War, characterized as "cru- 
elty " by Sherman, 11, 219, 
220. 

Washington, Booker T., men- 
tioned, 235. 

Washington, George, Lee 
compared with, 106; men- 
tioned, 160 ; Johnston com- 
pared with, 185. 

Webster, Daniel, present at 
General Sherman's wedding, 
28 ; destined to be Secretary 
of State, 29 ; his speech on 
the " Omnibus Bill," 30-32. 



Wellington, Duke of, life in 
London compared with 
Sherman's life in New 
York, 330; Lord Tenny- 
son's ode upon, 333. 

Wheeler, General Joseph, har- 
asses Sherman with his cav- 
alry, 223, 248; did not 
"massacre" negroes, 264, 
265 ; cavalry division of re- 
duced by fighting, 267. 

Williams, General A. S,, 
oommands the Twentieth 
Corps in the ' ' March to the 
Sea," 229. 

Wilson, General J. H., as- 
signed to checkmate cavalry 
raids, 228. 

Wood, General Thomas J., 
present at interview be- 
tween Sherman and Simon 
Cameron, 82. 



Young, John R., describes 
General Sherman's life in 
New York, 330 ; speaks of 
the affectionate relations be- 
tween Grant, Sherman and 
Sheridan, 331 ; speaks of 
Sherman's kindness, after 
the war, to Southern men, 
332. 



OCT 31 1903 



